German Companies in India: Barriers and Opportunities of Future Trade Relations
With a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of USD 3.178 trillion in 2021, a popula-tion of 1.41 billion, and a growing middle-income class, India is becoming an increasingly attractive market for German companies to conduct business. In 2021, bilateral trade between Germany and India amounted to EUR 23.3 bil-lion and has the potential to grow in the future.
On 17 June 2022, the EU and India relaunched negotiations for a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) as well as separate negotiations for an Investment Protection Agreement and an Agreement on Geographical Indications after approx. nine-year hiatus. The first talks were launched in 2007, lasted for six years and were suspended due to a gap in ambition. There have been five rounds of negotia-tions, the last one has taken place in June 2023.
German companies seek for a comprehensive FTA. The reduction of trade and investment barriers is crucial for the further expansion of economic relations between Germany and India. Therefore, SGC and its sister-chamber IGCC jointly conducted a survey with 147 German companies in India: The results reveal the most important barriers to trade and investment and highlight the need to accelerate and conclude negotiations between the EU and India.
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