Piyush Goyal, standing at the inauguration of the India Centre and Indo‑German Business Forum, set a bold goal for Thursday: lift bilateral trade to €310 billion by 2025, a ten‑fold jump from the €31 billion recorded last year.
He added that the India‑EU free‑trade agreement will be signed by December and, once in force, will be operational in four to five months. “If we add a zero to 31, we get 310,” Goyal said, urging concrete plans.
The minister leads a delegation of roughly 100 Indian firms and start‑ups touring Germany and the Netherlands from Oct. 22 to 27. He points to German precision engineering and India’s growing digital and manufacturing base as a match for joint ventures. "It’s the right time to forge partnerships, not wait for the FTA," he said.
German Economic Affairs Minister Katherina Reiche echoed the call for deeper ties, noting that India is not in Germany’s top‑20 trading partners despite €31 billion in 2025 trade. She highlighted a €28 billion investment stock in India and urged German companies to double the trade volume.
Goyal also warned about the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, saying a 50 % import duty on steel would hurt European industry and inflate living costs. He framed the mechanism as a potential "disaster" for European manufacturers.
With the FTA slated for December, Indian businesses must now identify German customers and investors. A Bengaluru‑based founder of a robotics start‑up said the new target could unlock scaling opportunities in German factories, underscoring the human impact behind the numbers.