India announced a Free Trade Agreement with the European Union on Tuesday morning following nearly two decades of negotiation. The deal paves the way for simplified trade of goods between New Delhi and the 27-nation bloc — a market of 2 billion consumers that constitutes 25% of the world GDP. A formal signing ceremony is expected later this year once the document undergoes legal vetting.
“A big agreement was signed between the European Union and India yesterday. People are calling this the mother of all deals. This agreement will bring major opportunities for the public in India and Europe. This is a perfect example of a partnership between two major economies of the world…This agreement represents 25% of the global GDP and one third of global trade,” said Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
He also assured that the manufacturing and service sectors would get a massive boost from this trade deal.
“It will be a balanced, forward-looking deal for better economic integration with the EU. The deal will propel trade and investment between both sides…Negotiations have been successfully concluded. The deal has been finalised,” reports quoted Trade Secretary Rajesh Agrawal as saying on Monday.
A government official also told Reuters that a formal signing could come after five to six months of legal screening. It will take slightly longer to reach implementation — requiring ratification from the EU Parliament and a green signal from the Indian Cabinet. Officials told the publication that the deal is expected to be “implemented within a year”.
‘The mother of all deals’
Both Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen have recently termed the agreement as the “mother of all trade deals”. India and the EU pushed to close the deal after Prime Minister Narendra Modi and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen agreed to fast-track negotiations last year. The two-way talks gathered momentum after Trump imposed import tariffs on several trading partners — including a 50% tariff on goods from India.
European Council President Antonio Luis Santos da Costa and von der Leyen were the chief guests at the Republic Day function on Monday.
“Europe and India are the world’s largest democracies, committed to working together to shape a new global order. This is why we are here to take our partnership to new heights,” said von der Leyen while thanking President Droupadi Murmu for hosting them.
Europe financing ‘war’ against itself: Bessent
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent accused European nations of indirectly financing the Russia-Ukraine war as negotiations drew to a close. He lashed out at the 27-nation bloc for purchasing oil products refined in India using Russian crude — even as Washington has imposed tariffs on New Delhi over its energy ties with Moscow.
“We have put 25% tariffs on India for buying Russian oil. Guess what happened last week? The Europeans signed a trade deal with India. And just to be clear again, the Russian oil goes into India, the refined products come out, and the Europeans buy the refined products. They are financing the war against themselves,” Bessent told ABC News on Sunday.