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While you probably heard all about Mercosur, it was much easier to miss news of the new free trade agreement between the European Union and India. This “mother of all deals” – as described by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen – was signed in New Delhi by the two partners on 27 January. It earns that description due to the immensity of the market concerned: nearly two billion people.
The text, which concludes nearly twenty years of negotiations, is set to facilitate trade flows between the two parties, in particular by lowering customs duties on certain European products. While some critics, especially in India, see it as an “overhyped” agreement with limited benefits, it nevertheless carries significant weight in the current climate.
Pushed into each other's arms by US tariffs and Donald Trump's threats of aggression, the two “middle powers” are signalling – through their signed agreement – a desire to reduce their shared dependence on the United States, even if it means setting aside the most sensitive topics, such as agriculture, human rights and India's energy dependence on Russia.
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