António Costa / X
António Costa, Narendra Modi and Ursula von der Leyen celebrate EU-India agreement
Almost 20 years later, negotiations have reached a successful conclusion. The barrier-free market will cover 2 billion people.
A European Union (EU) and India concluded this Tuesday, after 18 years, negotiations for “the largest of all trade agreements“, aiming for a barrier-free market for two billion peopleannounced the European Commission.
“Europe and India are make history today: we concluded the largest of all trade agreements and created a free trade zone with two billion people, from which both parties will benefit”, announced the leader of the community executive, Von der Leyen, in a publication on .
“This is just the beginning”, said the official, reporting the end of trade negotiations between the two blocs that began in 2007, which were blocked by environmental and agricultural concerns and were resumed in 2022.
Shortly afterwards, the president of the European Commission added that the EU and India are “two giants making history”. And he explained: “We did it: we signed the biggest of all trade agreements and we are creating a market of two billion people. This is the story of two giants – the second and fourth largest economies in the world -, two giants who choose partnership in a true win-win model”, said von der Leyen, speaking in New Delhi at the end of the “historic” 16th EU-India summit.
The summit also featured Antonio Costa, President of the European Council: “Today marks a historic moment, as we open a new chapter in EU-India relations – with regard to trade, security and people-to-people ties.”
“Our summit sends a clear message: in a changing global order, the EU and India remain united as strategic and reliable partners”, declared António Costa in .
The former Prime Minister of Portugal made a point of remembering, during the press conference, that he has Indian ancestry – his father, Orlando Costa, was born in Goa.
In a statement released in Brussels, the European Commission noted that this It is “the largest agreement ever reached by either party”which will create a barrier-free trade market for two billion people and eliminate up to four billion euros in customs duties per year for European exporters.
According to the institution, the agreement will also “strengthen economic and political ties between the second and fourth largest economies in the world, at a time of increasing geopolitical tensions and global economic challenges”, particularly after the tariff threats from the United States to the European Union, which have since been mitigated.
The EU and India already trade more than 180 billion euros in goods and services per year, generating around 800,000 jobs in the Unionso it is expected that this agreement double EU goods exports to India by 2032 by eliminating or reducing customs tariffs on 96.6% of the value of European goods exports to India.
“It is about more ambitious trade opening that India has ever granted to a trading partner”, the European Commission also said, speaking of a “significant competitive advantage for the EU’s main industrial and agri-food sectors” given access to the most populous country in the world, with 1.45 billion inhabitants, and the largest economy with the fastest growth, with an annual GDP of 3.4 billion euros.
During the Portuguese presidency of the Council of the EU, in the first half of 2021, India and the EU agreed to negotiate a trade agreement, another on investment protection and one on geographical indications.
A EU is India’s biggest trading partner and the second largest destination for Indian exports, meaning it intends to reinforce this position due to competition from China and the United States.
