Europe is adding to businesses' regulatory burden, says Piyush Goyal

The Hague: India’s commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal on Monday said Europe was adding to businesses’ regulatory burden just as the global economy seeks simpler rules and greater freedom to operate.

“We are deregulating. Sadly, you need to take a lesson or two from us on that. With Europe adding to the regulatory burden of businesses. I tell you, whenever I say that, I become the darling of the business world. In your countries,” Goyal said at the India Netherlands Business Forum in The Hague.

Goyal, on an official visit to the Netherlands, also positioned India as a trusted partner for businesses, saying the country does not steal data, technology or ideas.

His remarks follow a visit to Germany last week, where he said European manufacturers would need trusted partner countries to produce goods that were becoming increasingly expensive to make in Europe. He also called out the European Union’s carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM), which imposes a carbon cost on certain carbon-intensive imports, calling it “inviting disaster.”

Goyal said businesses globally wanted less compliance, simpler procedures and less paperwork. “Because really, it's the world wants deregulation. The world wants more freedom to operate. Business world is looking for less compliance burden. Simpler processes. Simpler procedures. Less paperwork. And we can do that.”

His comments come as India pursues its Jan Vishwas initiative, which seeks to improve the ease of doing business and living by replacing criminal punishment for minor, technical and procedural violations with monetary penalties, warnings or administrative action.

EU defends carbon levy

The Netherlands’ foreign trade and development cooperation minister, Sjoerd Sjoerdsma, defended the European Commission’s approach, saying it was pursuing an agenda of deregulation while maintaining rules needed to protect consumers. Regulations that were unnecessary and hindered trade, however, needed scrutiny, he said.

Sjoerdsma also ruled out a rethink of CBAM, describing it as an essential instrument for ensuring the world adheres to the goals of the Paris climate agreement.

India, for its part, has secured commitments including a forward-looking most-favoured nation assurance under which any flexibilities granted to a third country under the CBAM regulation would also be extended to India.

Trade and trust

The India-EU trade agreement is expected to be signed by the end of the calendar year, with implementation targeted for the following spring.

“We hope that this will be signed in December and we hope that implementation will follow as soon as possible, preferably the next day, but we all know it takes a little more than that. So I don't have my crystal ball as to the exact date, but let's hope that this gets implemented spring next year. Spring next year. But preferably sooner,” Sjoerdsma told reporters.

Trade between India and the EU in goods totalled €118.4 billion in 2025, with the bloc importing €69.5 billion worth of goods from India and exporting €48.9 billion to India. Annual bilateral trade in goods and services amounted to €180 billion.

Goyal also highlighted India’s energy infrastructure and its appeal as a destination for investment in data centres, linking the country’s scale with its pitch as a trusted business partner.

“We are sitting on the world's second largest single national grid today….One grid with 70% clean energy providing a huge opportunity for data centres for example. And we are a trusted nation. We don't steal data, we don't steal technology, we don't steal ideas,” he said.

“The new global growth equation will be shaped by countries that combine scale with trust, technology with inclusion and ambition with responsibility,” Goyal added.

Bilateral trade between India and the Netherlands, meanwhile, fell 16.2% to $23.26 billion in fiscal year 2026 (FY26), from $27.75 billion in the previous year. India recorded a trade surplus of $11.74 billion, with exports worth $17.5 billion.

Sjoerdsma said closer ties between the two countries were increasingly important as global trade became more politicised and unpredictable.

“I think it's also important that we place the relationship between the Netherlands and India within this global context, because if you look around, trade has become more politicised, has become more unpredictable, and that means that if you want to build on this relationship, if you want to strengthen your economic relationship, if you want to strengthen trade, you have to increase the level of trust. And I think nothing speaks trust better than the strategic partnership that we have, the continued business that we see.”

Ramita Mishra contributed to the story.

The writer is in The Hague as the guest of Confederation of Indian Industry.

About the Author

Utpal Bhaskar is Assistant Managing Editor with Mint and part of the founding team that launched the newspaper. Widely cited by authors and think-tanks, he leads policy coverage for Mint and is part of the leadership team. He is a UK government’s Chevening Fellow and a US State Department’s International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) alumnus, with interests in political economy and geo-economics. Based in New Delhi, he has extensive experience reporting on and leading news coverage at the intersection of geopolitics, technology, and economic policy, focusing particularly on India-China-Pakistan dynamics, the subcontinent, supply chains, and energy security. He is part of the founding teams of three start-up media platforms and previously worked at afaqs! Reporter,  Business Standard, and News Corp VCCircle. He holds a Master's degree in Political Science from the Centre for Political Studies (CPS) at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), and is also a University Grants Commission (UGC) NET scholar.