Nepal UK
New Delhi – India and the European Union have announced that they have entered into landmark trade deal after nearly two decades of negotiations.
"We did it, we delivered the mother of all deals," European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said at a media briefing in Delhi. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi called the pact "historic".
It will allow free trade of goods between the bloc of 27 European states and the world's most populous country, which together make up nearly 25% of global gross domestic product and a market of two billion people.
“The finalisation of India-EU trade deal marks reordering of the global economic landscape. The India–EU deal is one of the most consequential economic alignments in recent times. The agreement signals India’s arrival as a central architect of the post-US-centric trade order,” The Economic Times newspaper reported.
The Times of India newspaper reported that both the sides have agreed to boost cooperation on counterterrorism, maritime security and cybersecurity.
The two sides are working on a draft security and defence partnership covering areas such as maritime security, cyber threats and defence dialogue, Reuters news agency reported.
The EU is India's largest trading partner in goods, with bilateral merchandise trade, external reaching $136bn (£99.4bn) in 2024-25, nearly doubling over a decade.
Talks for a deal started in 2007 but stalled in 2013 over roadblocks in market access and regulatory demands. Discussions were formally restarted in July 2022, BBC News reported.
Trump's tariffs proved to be a "useful tailwind in the homestretch" to get the deal over the line, one EU diplomat told the BBC.
In the past seven months, India has signed major trade agreements with the UK, Oman and New Zealand, and a 2024 pact signed with the four-nation European Free Trade Association bloc of Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein came into effect last year. It signed a trade pact with Australia in 2022.
