India-European Union Striving To Negotiate Free Trade Agreement By End of 2025: German Ambassador

New Delhi: India and the European Union are striving to conclude a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) by the end of 2025, according to German Ambassador to India and Bhutan, Philipp Ackermann.

Ackermann made this statement while addressing the 9th Carnegie Global Tech Summit on Saturday in New Delhi during the session titled ‘Marquee Panel: Sambhavna: Next is What?’

In his remarks, Ackermann highlighted Europe’s remarkable show of strength, referencing the recent visit of the President of the Commission and 21 commissioners to Delhi a few weeks ago. He described the visit as an extraordinary event, emphasising Europe’s renewed focus on India. Ackermann noted that such a visit was unprecedented for any other country.

"I think there is a dedication and commitment to the FTA between India and Europe," Ackermann stated.

The German ambassador highlighted the importance of a Free Trade Agreement between like-minded countries, adding, “Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the President of the Commission have agreed on a negotiated free trade agreement by the end of this year."

Uncertainty looms on trade future amid Trump’s reciprocal tariffs

While Ackermann’s statement on the FTA between India and the European Union is significant, uncertainty clouds global trade due to Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariffs, which have been temporarily paused for 90 days.

Trump’s tariffs aim to revitalize the American economy by challenging China, attracting investments, and bringing manufacturing and jobs back to the United States. The US President has been vocal about imposing reciprocal tariffs since the start of his second term in the White House.

On April 2, in a highly anticipated move, Trump announced trade taxes on 133 nations, including China, India, the European Union, the UK, Canada, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, and Brazil, among others.

Trump justified the tariffs as a measure to balance the trade deficit with partner nations and to counter the high tariffs imposed on the US economy by other countries. However, market experts criticized Trump’s approach, arguing that he focused solely on the trade deficit in goods while ignoring the US trade surplus in services.

Following requests from several nations to negotiate the trade tax, Trump granted a 90-day pause, except for China, which retaliated with equal force. The tariffs caused stock markets to crash, leading to significant losses for billionaires, including Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, and others.