India-EU Trade Deal Favours New Delhi, Says Top US Trade Official

India appears to have secured greater gains in its newly sealed free trade agreement with the European Union, with the Trump administration’s top trade official saying New Delhi would likely benefit more from expanded market access and labour mobility provisions, according to PTI.

Reacting to the India-EU trade deal, billed as the “mother of all deals”, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said India had emerged on “top” in the agreement, which was finalised on Tuesday. Speaking to Fox Business, Greer said he had reviewed some details of the pact and believed it favoured India.

“I've looked at some of the details of the deal so far. I think India comes out on top on this, frankly. They get more market access into Europe,” Greer said in the interview.

He also pointed to possible mobility provisions for Indian workers. “It sounds like they (India) have some additional immigration rights. I don't know for sure, but President Ursula von der Leyen of the EU has talked about mobility for Indian workers into Europe. So I think on net, India is going to have a heyday with this. They have low-cost labour,” Greer added.

According to PTI, Greer said the agreement reflected the EU’s continued reliance on global trade at a time when the United States was seeking to recalibrate its approach. He noted that the EU appeared to be “doubling down on globalisation” while the US was trying to “fix some of the problems of globalisation here in the US”.

Responding to a question on his broader assessment of the India-EU deal, Greer said that with President Donald Trump prioritising domestic production and imposing fees on access to the US market, other countries were looking for alternative destinations for their goods. “So the EU is turning to India to try to find a place. The EU is so trade dependent, they need other outlets if they can't keep sending all their stuff to the United States,” he said.

PTI reported that Greer also addressed questions on US tariffs linked to India’s purchase of Russian oil. He said India continued to pay the levies imposed for Russian oil purchases, in addition to the 25 per cent reciprocal tariff introduced by the Trump administration.

When asked whether India was still buying Russian oil, Greer said, “They have made a lot of progress on this. I'm in frequent contact with my counterpart in India. I have a great working relationship with him, but they still have a way to go on this point. They like the discount that you get from Russian oil; it's close by, so it's hard for them.”

He added that the US Treasury Department had introduced more significant sanctions a few weeks ago and said Washington expected India “to continue to wind that down, but we're watching it closely”.

Reported PTI, the India-EU trade deal is expected to create a combined market of nearly two billion people. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the EU’s top leadership unveiled a five-year agenda aimed at leveraging cooperation in trade and defence to protect the rules-based world order.

The two sides also signed two key agreements, one on security and defence cooperation and another on mobility for Indian talent to Europe — during summit talks hosted by Prime Minister Modi with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa, amid strained relations between the EU and the US.

Officials said the free trade agreement, which will account for nearly a quarter of global GDP, will eliminate tariffs on 99 per cent of Indian exports to the EU and reduce duties on more than 97 per cent of EU exports to India. Indian sectors such as textiles, apparel, leather goods, handicrafts, footwear and marine products are expected to gain from the pact, while European industries including wine, automobiles, chemicals and pharmaceuticals stand to benefit.

(With inputs from PTI)