EU rejects Trump credit for India FTA, says deal based on strategic interests, not tweets

Washington: The European Union has rejected suggestions that shifting US trade policies under President Donald Trump drove the conclusion of its landmark free trade agreement with India, saying the pact was the result of years of political commitment and a shared strategic vision rather than short-term geopolitical developments.

The remarks came after Christophe Kiener, the European Union’s chief negotiator for the agreement, on Wednesday (local time) pushed back against a suggestion during a discussion hosted by the Peterson Institute for International Economics that recent trade turbulence may have accelerated the negotiations.

“I would dispute that,” Kiener said. “We did not conclude this agreement because of a tweet. We concluded this agreement because there is a genuine and strategic and economic interest for the EU and India to come closer.”

Kiener acknowledged that the international trading environment had become increasingly uncertain in recent years but said the foundations of the agreement were laid well before the current wave of trade tensions.

He said the European Union and India had built a broader partnership encompassing trade, security, defence, mobility and technology, describing the free trade agreement as “the jewel on the crown” of that relationship. The agreement, he added, is “commercially very, very meaningful” and forms part of a long-term effort to strengthen economic ties between two major democracies.

He recalled that the original negotiations stalled because “the EU’s menu for FTA did not quite match that of India,” leading both sides to suspend talks in 2013. When negotiations restarted in 2022, they began afresh rather than relying on earlier draft texts.

According to Kiener, several developments reinforced the need for closer cooperation, including the failure to advance global trade liberalisation through the World Trade Organization, lessons from the Covid-19 pandemic about supply-chain resilience and the instability created by Russia’s war against Ukraine.

He said those developments encouraged both sides to strengthen economic ties based on predictable rules and diversified supply chains.

Darpan Jain, India’s chief negotiator, also dismissed suggestions that the agreement was primarily a response to recent US trade policy shifts. He noted that when the European Commission leadership visited New Delhi in January 2025, and both sides committed to concluding negotiations by the end of the year, “the US trade policy changes had not started.”

“In fact, the new US administration had just taken over at that time,” Jain said, adding that the commitment to conclude the agreement stemmed from the growing India-EU relationship and India’s broader strategy to expand market access through trade agreements.

Jain said India had concluded nine free trade agreements over the past five years and that there was “a strong political commitment” to deepen trade ties, reduce disadvantages faced by Indian exporters and promote greater outward economic engagement.

The two negotiators also described the agreement as carrying significance beyond commerce. Opening the discussion, moderator Cecilia Malmstrom said the pact sends “a powerful geopolitical message” by demonstrating that two of the world’s largest economies remain committed to transparent and rules-based trade at a time when tariffs and protectionist measures have become increasingly common.

The agreement still requires legal review and ratification before entering into force. EU officials have said they hope it can be signed later this year and implemented next year, while Indian officials have indicated that New Delhi’s approval process is comparatively straightforward, requiring Cabinet approval followed by presidential ratification.

IANS