EPCH Looking Forward to India–EU FTA Milestone

New Delhi/NCR – 24th January’2026 – The Export Promotion Council for Handicrafts (EPCH) is looking forward to a major milestone towards signing of the long-awaited India–EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA), which is expected to significantly strengthen India’s trade and market access framework with the 27-nation European Union.

Welcoming the positive momentum, Dr. Neeraj Khanna, Chairman, EPCH, said that “We are hopeful that the India–EU FTA will create a stronger, more predictable and facilitative market-access environment for Indian handicrafts in Europe and enabling our exporters to compete with greater confidence. This is especially important for our artisan-led MSMEs, where the real cost is often not just tariffs but the complexity of compliance, documentation and procedural barriers.”

Dr. Khanna further added that “European buyers are increasingly looking for authenticity, sustainability, design depth and strong storytelling that India Handmade naturally offers. Our recent participation at international design platforms namely ‘Maison&Objet, Paris’ has shown encouraging optimism among visitors and buyers for Indian handcrafted home, lifestyle and décor products. With an improved trade framework, we believe this interest can translate into deeper partnerships, higher value orders and a stronger global positioning of the ‘Magic of Gifted Hands’.”