Trade: EU and India Seal a Vast Agreement

The European Union officially announced on January 27 the signing of a major trade agreement with India. The signing of this free trade agreement between the two parties comes after more than twenty years of negotiations. It provides for the creation of "a free trade zone of 2 billion people".

In a highly volatile geopolitical context, it will also enable India and Europeans to protect themselves against Chinese competition and Donald Trump''s tariff threats. "We are showing a fractured world that another path is possible," Ursula von der Leyen welcomed on X.

The EU-India free trade agreement provides for the reduction of Indian taxes on the majority of European imports. Concretely, taxes on vehicles will drop from 110% to 10%, those on wines from 150% to 20%, and those on pasta or chocolate, currently at 50%, will be completely eliminated. India, for its part, should benefit from this agreement to access European investments, necessary to accelerate its modernization and foster the creation of millions of jobs for its population.