India and the European Union (EU) closed this Tuesday (27) a trade agreement, described by both powers as historic, which will unite the second and fourth largest economies in the world in an unprecedented market of two billion consumers, after 18 years of negotiations.
“Europe and India make history today. We have reached the most important agreement of all. We have created a free trade zone for two billion people, from which both parties will benefit,” wrote the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, on her account on the social network X.
The announcement brings forward by a few hours the signing ceremony of the negotiation conclusions, scheduled for this morning, as part of the summit between the parties.
It is in this formal act that Brussels and New Delhi are expected to reveal the technical architecture of a pact whose details were kept secret until the last minute.
The agreement envisages eliminating or reducing tariffs on 96.6% of EU goods exports, an opening that will save European companies around 4 billion euros a year in import taxes and will allow them to double product exports to New Delhi by 2032.
Von der Leyen added that this understanding “is just the beginning” and assured that the European Union and India will further strengthen their strategic relationship in the coming years.
The European Trade Commissioner, Maros Sefcovic, celebrated the conclusion of the agreement and defined it as the largest free trade agreement reached to date, highlighting that it is the result of more than a decade of work and a year of intense negotiations.
“After a year of tireless commitment and more than a decade of preparation, we reached the largest free trade agreement in history. We reduced tariffs and opened up opportunities, demonstrating that mutually beneficial trade is possible and that a genuine partnership is always worth the effort,” Sefcovic wrote in his X account.
Minutes earlier, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had confirmed that both parties had reached a consensus on Monday, after the conclusion of negotiations.
“Just yesterday a historic agreement was reached between India and the European Union. Around the world, it is being described as the ‘mother of all agreements’,” Modi said during a video address.
