EU-India free trade agreement will be a 'game changer'

New Delhi: Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar believes India’s free trade agreement with the European Union will be a ‘game changer’. External Affairs Minister Jaishankar said that due to this free trade agreement, India and the European Union could greatly assist each other on the front of advanced technology and supply chains while maintaining their strategic autonomy. Besides, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who visited India two days ago, also announced that he would initiate a free trade agreement between India and the European Union.

Moreover, while addressing a program organized by ‘The Confederation of Indian Industry-CII’ on Tuesday, Jaishankar highlighted the importance of India’s Free Trade Agreement to the Confederation. Jaishankar expressed his belief that this free trade agreement would benefit both sides. Through this trade cooperation, India and the European Union can strengthen cooperation on cutting-edge technology and supply chain fronts while maintaining their strategic autonomy. Jaishankar further said that this is the goal and India and the European Union are taking steps in that direction to achieve it.

Currently, the European Union is facing the challenge of the supremacy of these two big countries – the United States and China. After the conflict in Ukraine, the United States forced the European Union member states to adopt a tough stance against Russia. This has had devastating consequences for European countries that depend on Russian fuel. However, the European countries, which rely on the United States for many things, could not overcome the US pressure on this front. European countries are dependent on the supply chain in China for production. After the outbreak of Corona, this supply chain in China was disrupted and adversely affected the economies of European countries.

A vague reference to this comes from the statement of the External Affairs Minister of India. India’s foreign minister has made the European Union aware that India and the European Union can greatly assist each other on many fronts, from technology to supply chain, and thereby reduce dependence on others while maintaining autonomy at the strategic level.

Meanwhile, India and the European Union announced the establishment of the ‘Trade and Technology Council-TTC’ this month. Earlier, the European Union had established this kind of cooperation only with the United States. After that, External Affairs Minister Jaishankar welcomed this cooperation with India. This will greatly increase India’s cooperation with the European Union on the front lines of artificial intelligence, quantum computing, semiconductors and cyber security. Jaishankar also pointed out that the European Union is already India’s very important trading partner.

In the financial year 2021-22, the trade between India and the European Union has crossed $115 billion. The External Affairs Minister pointed out that if India’s trade with the United Kingdom, which has left the European Union, and other European countries not members of the Union are considered, this trade will be much more. At the same time, India is becoming one of the most attractive countries for investment due to India’s growing middle class. The Indian External Affairs Minister has claimed that this is a great opportunity for the European Union, saying that European countries can benefit greatly from it.

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