Rama Krishna Sangem
This is a big bang business development for India as it sealed an FTA (Free Trade Agreement) with 28 countries European Union (EU) on January 27, Tuesday. This much awaited deal came through after at least five years of background work and at least 2-3 years of intense negotiations and homework. This deal came as a big relief to India which struggling to get a trade agreement with the US and even the UK for the last several months.
“We did it, we delivered, this is a mother of all deals,” justifiably exclaimed Ursula van der Leyen, president of EU Commission just after announcing the deal. EU Council president Antonio Costa and Prime Minister Narendra Modi too couldn’t hide their visible joy in showcasing the deal to the world. Till now India signed more than half a dozen FTAs with some countries but this one with EU offers phenomenal hope and scope for growth in trade in both goods and services. More than that, cultural ties will be strengthened between the EU and India.
India and the European Union officially announced the conclusion of negotiations on the comprehensive trade agreement in New Delhi on Tuesday. Prime Minister Narendra Modi said India had concluded the biggest-ever trade deal following the announcement that the talks for the India-EU FTA had been concluded. “We did it,” President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said. The deal, however, will come into force after some legal vetting and formalities are over, maybe a few months later.
Why Mother of all trade deals?
India and Europe have concluded the “mother of all” trade deals, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Tuesday as Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the top EU leadership held summit talks to elevate the two-way ties to jointly navigate geopolitical turbulence and trade disruptions. Prime Minister Modi hosted von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa at the summit.
The long-awaited free trade agreement is expected to significantly expand the overall trajectory of two-way engagement, as it will open up new opportunities for cooperation in diverse areas. This is called Mother of all deals basically, it offers more scope for growth for both the EU and India on a range of goods and services. As both the countries want to expand their global trade at this crucial juncture, the deal will offer them bigger geographical platforms.
The FTA is expected to bring a qualitative change in deepening the overall bilateral ties in a range of sectors. The broad focus of today’s meeting is on trade, defence and security, climate change, critical technologies and strengthening the rules-based global order. The two sides are also set to unveil a defence framework pact and a strategic agenda. The new partnership comes at a time when Europe is seeking to reduce its dependence on the US and China and deepen its diplomatic and economic ties to other regions.
Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal led a galaxy of Indian business leaders in expressing their happiness over the deal in view of opening up of vast markets for both the sides and slashing of tax rates on a number of items. As PM Modi said, it is for the businesses for making use of this deal and expanding their trade. Now the ball is in the court of businesses, he said rightly!
