The India-EU deal may emerge as an alternative to US neo-protectionism.

The India-EU Free Trade Agreement, whose formal end of treaty negotiations was marked by a grand press conference on the 27th of January, after the European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, and European Council President and former Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa featured as the chief guests on India's Republic Day parade the previous day, was widely covered in both national and international media alike, owing to its immense implications, and its final completion after being marred by delays for 2 decades.

The European Parliament. (Wikimedia Commons)

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed this deal, as one that would benefit both the Indian and European peoples, while Ursula von der Leyen went a step further, and proceeded to call it "the mother of all deals", while positing that "if India rises, the world becomes stronger, more stable and more prosperous".

This long-awaited trade deal between two of the biggest economies, and two of the most influential global markets, comes at a time of increasing uncertainty in the global order, with the US' actions in Venezuela and Iran, as well as recent statements on Greenland and related tariff threats by the President, has created a state of intense flux, given Europe's dependence on the American security architecture, that is now turning increasingly hostile towards its own allies. The free trade agreement is being seen as heavily expedited by these factors, and is being framed as a counterweight by the EU to signal a pivot away from, and is being viewed as a major disadvantage to the US, which due to its increasing tariff-based neo-protectionist, America First policy, stands to lose a first-mover advantage into the world's fastest growing major economy and a 1.5 billion people-strong market, allowing European companies, especially in the heavy industrial and luxury goods sectors, to gain a foothold in India, increasing difficulty for US companies to penetrate the Indian market due to heightened competition. Similarly, it is being touted as a key milestone in India's efforts to diversify its export markets in the way of the 50 percent tariffs being levied by the US on India, 25 percent of which is being attributed by the US to India's purchases of Russian crude oil. The United States' Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in an interview with CNBC, "The Europeans are unwilling to join us and it turns out because they wanted to do this (India-EU) trade deal", which highlights the US' displeasure at the European Union with respect to this agreement. In the era of tariffs, duties, and increasingly hawkish outlooks on globalisation by its own harbinger, this India-EU deal is being widely perceived as a challenge to the US' newfound trade policy, and a firm belief that globalization, and interconnected trade can still yield results. But this agreement is yet to be ratified in the EU and Indian parliaments, which, according to reports may take upto a year, and post-ratification, execution is what will dictate its efficacy in achieving its motives, which as of yet, remains to be seen.