India and the European Union have announced the conclusion of what is being described as the “mother of all trade deals”, but a key question remains: can Turkish goods be routed into India under the agreement?
Officials have clarified that while Indian products exported to the EU can subsequently move on to Türkiye under the EU–Türkiye Customs Union, the reverse is not true. Turkish goods will not be eligible for duty concessions when entering India under the India–EU FTA, even if they are shipped via EU ports. “Our goods go into the EU, and from there they can move to any country with which the EU has a customs union. But Türkiye will not get the benefit because it is not part of the EU as a territory under the FTA. So, Türkiye cannot export to India and benefit from concessions,” an official said on condition of anonymity.
Under the EU–Türkiye Customs Union, Ankara is required to align with the EU’s common external tariff. This means that when the EU lowers duties for an FTA partner such as India, Türkiye must extend similar tariff benefits to Indian goods entering its market.
This obligation arises from Türkiye’s customs union arrangement with the EU, which has been in force since 1996. The agreement allows industrial goods and processed agricultural products to move freely between the EU and Türkiye without tariffs or quotas, while requiring Türkiye to apply the EU’s common external tariff to imports from third countries. However, the arrangement does not cover primary agriculture, services, investment, government procurement or digital trade.
India and the EU announced the conclusion of FTA negotiations on Tuesday, with the agreement expected to be signed and implemented within the year. The deal will provide preferential market access on 96.8% of tariff lines, covering 99.5% of India’s exports by volume and 90.7% by value to the EU, most of which will become duty-free.
Experts say that although Türkiye must mirror EU tariff reductions for FTA partners such as India, it does not receive reciprocal access to the Indian market because it is not a signatory to the India–EU agreement. “Turkish goods cannot use the India–EU FTA to enter India duty-free, even if shipped via EU ports. They remain Turkish in origin and therefore do not meet the rules of origin under India’s FTA, which is signed with the EU and not with Türkiye,” said Ajay Srivastava, co-founder of the Global Trade Research Initiative, as quoted by ET.
The clarification comes against the backdrop of strained ties between New Delhi and Ankara, following Türkiye’s support for Islamabad and its criticism of India’s strikes on terror camps in Pakistan in May under Operation Sindoor.
Trade data show that India’s exports to Türkiye fell 14.1% to $5.71 billion in 2024–25 from $6.65 billion in the previous year, while imports from Türkiye declined 20.8% to around $3 billion. Türkiye accounts for about 1.3% of India’s total exports of $437 billion in 2023–24.
India’s exports to Türkiye include mineral fuels and oil, electrical machinery and equipment, automobiles and components, organic chemicals, pharmaceutical products, tanning and dyeing materials, plastics and rubber, cotton, man-made fibres and filaments, and iron and steel. Imports from Türkiye include marble blocks and slabs, fresh apples, gold, vegetables, lime and cement, mineral oil, chemicals, natural or cultured pearls, and iron and steel.
