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Are you an EU technology equipment manufacturer, exporter, or supplier eager to expand into the Indian market? The EU-India Free Trade Agreement (FTA) 2026 opens one of the most significant global trade opportunities in recent history.
For years, EU technology exporters faced high tariff barriers of up to 44% when exporting to India. These tariff restrictions limited market entry for many IT devices, medical equipment, and industrial machinery, making large-scale expansion commercially unviable.
On the 27th of January, 2026, the EU and India concluded one of the most lucrative trade opportunities India has concluded with any other trade partner. The agreement offers EU and Indian businesses an unprecedented chance to venture into the world’s fastest-growing markets.
For EU technology exporters, the opportunity is especially compelling as despite the current high tariffs, the EU has invested significantly in the Indian market. And now with the FTA, EU exports to India are expected to surge exponentially.
But what exactly makes exporting technology equipment to India luxurious now more than ever? In this article, Blackthorne explores the EU-India Free Trade Agreement, unravelling the immediate and future opportunities for EU technology exporters and how to utilise them.
The EU-India Free Trade Agreement (FTA) 2026 presents a detailed commercial and regulatory structure between the European Union and India.
The agreement is designed to reduce longstanding barriers to trade between the two countries and to promote viable, healthy trade relations.
The FTA focuses on streamlining the five main areas of international trade as discussed here:
The FTA offers a major reduction of tariffs between the EU and India as follows:
Many of the IT products that previously attracted over 16% of tariffs benefit from little to no tariffs at all.
From the Customs and Trade Facilitation chapter, the agreement introduces procedural enhancements to reduce clearance delays and lower the cost of exporting.
These include:
To cement the customs control and trade facilitation, the EU and India agreed on a legal basis, including the sharing of customs data. This translates to a more efficient supply chain, streamlining the customs clearance procedure for imported goods.
Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) focus on protectionist regulations and requirements that have long discouraged trade in technical goods such as industrial machinery. These include conformity assessment procedures, standards, and technical regulations.
Here are the key commitments in this chapter:
Such measures eliminate conflicting standards and duplicate verification testing for regulated products, such as IT equipment.
The FTA offers professionals and businesses a predictable and secure operating environment. This is especially beneficial for technology exporters that provide IT solutions, digital infrastructure, software, and post-sale maintenance.
The key aspects of these chapters include:
Small and large businesses can leverage such measures to expand cross-border operations, offer integrated solutions, and innovate responsibly.
With the reduced tariffs, exporters may worry about future regulatory changes and the safety of their businesses in the case of market disruption.
However, the intellectual property, trade remedies, and good regulatory practices chapters eliminate the worries in the following aspects:
This includes the two countries possibly utilising trade defence tools such as anti-dumping and global safeguards to handle unfair trade between them.
The authorities must also give stakeholders sufficient information to understand how new regulations affect them.
The FTA offers EU technology importers various benefits, including:
Several IT equipment items benefit from immediate tariff reductions, while the rest follow a clearly defined phase-out.
Here is a quick comparison between current tariff rates and futures rates for the main technology equipment categories:
| EU-India Free Trade Agreement (FTA) Tariff Rates for Tech Equipment | ||||
| Technology Category | Product Examples | Current Import Duty (India) | FTA Preferential Duty | Phase-Out |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Machinery and Electrical Equipment | Industrial machinery, electrical appliances, and automation equipment | Up to 44% | 0% for most products | Immediate and phased over 5-10 yrs |
| Aircraft and Spacecraft Components | Aircraft engines, avionics, and precision aerospace parts | Up to 11% | 0% for most products | Up to 10 yrs (often 5 yrs) |
| Optical, Medical, and Surgical Equipment | Medical imaging devices, diagnostic instruments, and optical equipment | Up to 27.5% | 0% for approximately 90% of products | Staged elimination (at entry and 5-10 years) |
With the trade deal, EU technology manufacturers have a clearer visibility into India’s technical requirements, allowing them to align product design, testing and certifications before shipment.
Additionally, they have a chance to learn about new regulations and adapt accordingly, lowering the risk of noncompliance.
No abrupt changes in import regulations and policies against the exporter’s consent. No more unclear import requirements. This means fewer delays during customs clearance and timely delivery of equipment.
Hardware designs, embedded software, firmware, and licensed technologies are safe following intellectual property protection. This reduces the risk of unauthorised replication, misuse or reverse engineering of advanced or innovation-driven technology.
Due to the low tariff rates, straightforward import procedures, and good trade practices, EU exporters can now compete more effectively with the non-EU exporters and local businesses.
SMEs have greater transparency, simplified procedures, and access to trade-related operations. They can agree on fair terms of trade and scale their exports at manageable costs and within a predictable business environment.
EU exporters can now offer end-to-end (installation, maintenance and support) IT equipment solutions with the support of digital trade and cross-border service delivery.
The EU-India trade deal comes at a time when India’s economy is rapidly expanding and heavily reliant on imported technology and capital goods.
In reference:
In a nutshell, the EU and India already have deeply rooted trade relationships. And with the FTA, the EU’s investment in India is expected to expand further, as India broadens their investment in the EU, too.
However, if you are planning to expand your IT equipment supplies to India, strategic planning is crucial in making the most of the FTA.
Here are the various ways you can leverage the trade deal:
1. Identify high-impact export opportunities
To target high-impact export opportunities, focus on technology categories where India’s import demand is strongest and the local capacity is limited. Such categories include:
2. Concentrate your technology exports within the FTA’s tariffs phase-out timelines
Many tariff reductions are phased over defined timelines, while others qualify for immediate tariff elimination. Understanding these timelines is crucial in your financial planning and profit optimisation.
With the timelines, you can:
3. Prioritise compliance
Compliance remains a personal responsibility in any export transaction. While the FTA streamlines the import procedure, fulfilling the import requirements is non-negotiable.
Noncompliance results in legal consequences such as financial penalties and the elimination of export privileges. Hence, you must ensure all your shipments comply with Indian local regulations and international standards.
4. Incorporate services and after-sales support into technology sales
India’s growing market will appreciate a complete solution entailing:
Offering these benefits to your customers abroad promotes customer loyalty and business sustainability.
And if you’re yet to establish a technical support team, partnering with technology IORs like Blackthorne, that offer equipment maintenance and support, would be essential.
5. Monitor policy shifts and local manufacturing initiatives
While India is highly dependent on advanced technology imports, local manufacturing of technology equipment such as mobile phones and consumer electronics is rapidly expanding.
Staying updated about local manufacturing incentives and sectoral reforms helps to:
The EU-India FTA offers irresistible benefits that no technology manufacturer and supplier in the EU would want to miss out on.
However, correct execution, operational precision, and regulatory compliance are what determine your profit margins.
Blackthorne offers a range of services, including export licensing consultancy, freight forwarding, and importer of record shipping to optimise your return on investment for every export transaction.
Here are the key roles we play so you can make the most of the EU-India trade deal:
Additionally, we avoid unnecessary costs that may arise from misclassification, valuation errors and non-compliance so you can cut importation costs.
Fundamentally, Blackthorne is your go-to solution if you are looking to scale your IT equipment supplies to India at low costs. And if you need any installation, maintenance and support services for your customers, you can count on us, too.
So, what product line are you planning on expanding to India? We would love to hear from you and discuss further your business expansion needs.
Why not press that call button or email us at sales@blackthorneit.com so we can start building your client base in India?
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