Imagine you are a chemical buyer in Europe trying to lock a six-month supply plan. Prices are tight, customers want predictable delivery, and every disruption forces a fresh re-qualification cycle.
In that context, the India-EU Free Trade Agreement is a meaningful shift, especially because it comes after years ofc stop-start talks that began in 2007 and were restarted in 2022, before reaching a political conclusion in January 2026.
The urgency increased over the last 2 to 3 years because supply risks and margin pressure became harder to ignore. European buyers want reliable alternatives beyond single-origin dependence, and India is being positioned as a long-term manufacturing and supply-chain partner. With India growing at over 6% annually and a population of about 1.45 billion, the EU also sees India as a strategic growth market.
The numbers explain the attention
India is expected to eliminate or reduce duties on about 96.6% of EU goods exports, while the EU plans to liberalise about 99.5% of its tariff lines for goods imported from India over seven years (with legal review, signing, and ratification steps still pending). The European Commission also expects the deal to double EU goods exports to India by 2032, supporting jobs across manufacturing, agriculture, various industries, and services.
India-EU Chemical Trade Today
Chemicals already play a big role in India's EU trade. In simple terms, the EU imports many chemicals from India, and India exports more organic and specialty chemical products to the EU.
This matters much more for specialty chemicals than for bulk commodities, because EU buyers care about more than price. They want consistent quality and repeatable batch performance, strong documentation, and regulatory fit for EU requirements.
So yes, the opportunity is real, but documentation and compliance readiness will decide who benefits first.
Which products does the EU import from India?
To understand where chemicals fit, it helps to look at what the EU already imports from India.
In 2024, EU imports from India totaled about €89.8bn. The largest categories included electrical machinery and equipment (€13.4bn), organic chemicals (€11.9bn), machinery and mechanical appliances (€8.6bn), iron and steel (€6.2bn), and pharmaceutical products (€4.7bn).
This is relevant for chemicals because organic chemicals already rank among the top import categories, and machinery matters because it supports manufacturing competitiveness across the entire chemical value chain.
Tariffs: What Could Change for Chemical Products?
If tariffs are reduced, the first impact is straightforward: the delivered product cost can go down, improving competitiveness and making trade smoother.
For the chemical industry, the categories customers will watch closely include:
- Organic chemicals and intermediates
- Plastics and polymers
- Pharma-related chemicals and fine chemicals
- Additives, performance chemicals, and agro inputs
The second-order effect is just as important. When tariffs are reduced, buyers start comparing suppliers, and sourcing can shift away from a single dominant origin toward best-fit supply.
Imports vs Exports Impact
Export-focused specialty players can gain share if they are documentation-strong and consistent. Meanwhile, domestic producers in more commoditised categories could feel pressure if cheaper EU imports enter more easily, pushing them toward low-volume, high-value products and better differentiation.
Beyond Tariffs: Compliance & Supply-Chain Strategy will Decide the Winners
Tariffs may open the door, but compliance decides who can actually navigate the farthest. For chemical exporters, that means being EU-ready on REACH, SDS, and labelling, and having audit-grade quality systems with strong traceability, change control, and CAPA.
At the same time, the deal will push a supply-chain shift: from single-site dependence to networked, multi-origin supply. EU buyers will reward suppliers who can keep supply moving even when one site faces disruption, and who can prove compliance without delays. For India, this is where China plus one thinking becomes real execution.
What Does this Mean for India’s Chemical Industry?
Where India can gain: specialty chemicals, organics, agrochemicals, and pharma-linked value chains can become more competitive in the EU, but only if they match EU expectations on documentation and consistency.
Where pressure can increase: categories closer to bulk and commodity competition may face tougher pricing and margin pressure if EU imports become easier. That can accelerate consolidation and push companies toward value-added specialties.
Agriculture has been one of the most sensitive areas in EU-India negotiations, with Indian tariffs on agri-food averaging 36% and going as high as 150%, which has historically limited EU agri-food exports to India. While that is not “chemicals” directly, it matters because agro value chains are tightly linked to agro inputs, formulation demand, and processing-linked supply chains.
For Indian chemical manufacturers, the FTA becomes a strategic lever to diversify export markets, reduce over‑dependence on traditional destinations, and integrate into higher‑value supply chains in Europe. It also signals to international investors that India is opening up high‑growth export corridors, potentially attracting more foreign investments into chemical R&D, production, and logistics ecosystems.
What It Means for Services and SMEs?
Beyond tariff cuts on goods, the EU–India FTA is also a major step on services, which has traditionally been a protected area in India’s trade policy. India’s services commitments under this deal are among the most ambitious it has made so far, going beyond what it offered in agreements with partners like the UK and Australia.
For European companies, this means more predictable access to sectors such as financial services, maritime transport, and professional services, with clearer rules on licensing, local presence, senior management, and board requirements. The European Commission notes that EU services exports to India reached €26bn in 2024, and this figure is expected to grow under the new market-access framework.
For small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), the point is practical: the agreement, designed to make the deal beneficial for smaller companies, includes contact points and a shared digital platform for clearer information on tariffs, customs, and market entry requirements.
How is Scimplify Positioned?
If the deal increases trade, the real question becomes execution: how do you go from a product idea or initial lab-level research to a consistent, commercial-ready supply? That is where Scimplify fits as an execution layer in a world moving toward distributed, multi-site supply.
The specialty chemicals industry has grown steadily for decades, but the last two to three years have added real pressure: tighter margins, greater supply risk, and buyers pushing for diversified sourcing beyond single-country dependence. That is why manufacturing models are shifting from investment-heavy, plant-owned setups to distributed, partner-led execution, where speed, flexibility, and risk reduction matter as much as cost.
This is the operating thesis Scimplify is built on. We are contract manufacturing first and science-led, using underutilized capacity across a large partner network to help companies move faster, avoid fixed capacity risk, and still meet the quality and compliance expectations required by global markets.
We apply a 3C framework to execution, with a focus on Capacity, Chemistry, and Compliance. Our operating system platform, ATOMS, enables rapid 3C-based site selection by mapping partner plants to the right molecule and customer need. Molecules then move from our R&D centres in India to specific partner facilities through a controlled handover, structured technology transfer, pilot runs, QA/QC audits, and multi-ton commercial scale while maintaining grade traceability, CoA discipline, and change control.
Looking for a chemical partner to take your chemical products to the European market? Get in touch with us today: info@scimplify.com
