The European Union is India's most important trading partner, while India is the ninth most important partner for Europe, figures from the EU's executive show.

According to European Commission figures, in 2007, India bought 1.8 per cent of the goods the EU exported, and was the source of 2.4 per cent of its imports, for a total trade of 55.7 billion euros (81.4 billion dollars).

That puts India far behind major EU trade partners such as the United States (442.5 billion euros' total trade) and China (303.3 billion euros), and even behind Korea (64.4 billion dollars).

The EU, on the other hand, was both India's largest source of imported goods (18.2 per cent of all India's imports), and its biggest export market (21.7 per cent of all Indian exports).

That makes the bloc far and away India's biggest trading partner, accounting for almost twice as much business as India's second-most important partner, the US.

Trade almost doubled between 2003 and 2007. Over the same period, EU investment in India more than tripled, to 2.4 billion euros, while trade in commercial services more than doubled to 12.2 billion euros.

In June 2007, the two sides began negotiating a free-trade agreement.

EU officials say that their key goal is to get better market access for EU goods and services in India, especially by reducing tariffs on imports such as cars, perfumes and rubber.

India wants to see tariffs on its exports reduced and the range of services its companies can offer in the EU widened.

On September 22, the EU launched proceedings against India in the World Trade Organization, complaining that some Indian states were imposing illegal tariffs on European wines and spirits.