India and the European Union closed the summit with leaders outlining the scope and intent of the announced trade deal, alongside a wider push to deepen strategic ties.
Key Highlights From The Trade Deal Announced Today
- Automobile tariffs will fall sharply, with duties on cars set to reduce gradually from 110% to as low as 10%. Tariffs on car parts will be fully eliminated within five to ten years.
- Agri-food tariffs will drop across several categories. Wine duties will be cut from 150% to 75% initially and reduced further to as low as 20% over time. Olive oil tariffs will fall from 45% to zero over five years.
- Sensitive European agricultural sectors will remain protected, with beef, chicken, rice and sugar excluded from tariff liberalisation.
- EU companies will gain privileged access to India's services market, including financial services and maritime transport. India has made its deepest commitments so far in services trade under this arrangement.
- The deal also includes sustainability and climate commitments, with plans for an EU–India climate cooperation platform and up to 500 million euros in EU support for India's green transition, subject to procedures.
Leaders Set Tone At Joint Briefing
Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a joint briefing with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President António Luís Santos da Costa, describing India–EU ties as a partnership aimed at global good.
Modi said the engagement between the world's two largest democratic powers marked a new chapter in relations and could provide stability at a time of global uncertainty. He said the announced deal would support investment, innovation and stronger supply chains, calling it India's largest trade arrangement to date and a blueprint for shared prosperity. He added that cooperation would extend beyond trade, from the Indo-Pacific to the Caribbean.
Costa said the partnership carried personal meaning for him due to his family roots in Goa and reflected deep historical and people-to-people ties. He said India and the EU share responsibility as major democracies to uphold the principles of the UN Charter and a rules-based international order. Costa added that trade acts as a geopolitical stabiliser and that the announced deal ranks among the most ambitious outlined, with the potential to link a market of about two billion people.
Von der Leyen said the announcement delivered what she described as the “mother of all deals” and marked a defining moment in India–EU relations. She said the partnership represents a win-win outcome and the beginning of deeper political, economic and strategic engagement. Drawing a parallel with Makar Sankranti, she said the time was right to open a new chapter in EU–India friendship.
India and the European Union also announced a new Security and Defence Partnership to deepen cooperation in the defence industry and maritime security. Von der Leyen said the move reflected trust between the two sides and the nature of reliable partners working together.
That concludes our live coverage of the India–EU trade deal and summit developments.
