EU officials will fly to New Delhi this week in a high-stakes push to secure a trade agreement between the European Union and India. The visit of Commissioners for Agriculture and Trade, Christophe Hansen and Maroš Šefčovič, scheduled for Thursday and Friday, comes as Brussels seeks to conclude the long-running talks by the end of the year.
European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen described the move as “the largest deal of its kind in the world. ” She has framed it as part of the EU’s wider strategy of bilateral trade agreements. Farming groups, however, have warned it could bring more competition and pressure for European producers, echoing concerns raised during the Mercosur negotiations.
India is a first-order economic partner. With bilateral trade exceeding €124 billion in 2023 and growth of nearly 90% over the past decade, New Delhi has become Brussels’ leading trading partner in Asia. EU officials claim the opportunities in green technologies, semiconductors, and artificial intelligence make India attractive for Europe’s economic transformation agenda.
However, the relationship with India is not free of contradictions. Just days ago, Narendra Modi’s government took part in a summit with Russia and China, reaffirming its central role in the BRICS core—that same bloc that Brussels and Washington have denounced as a challenge to the international order. This double status—strategic partner and, at the same time, ally of the West’s geopolitical rivals—does not seem to trouble European bureaucrats when it comes to striking deals. The belligerent rhetoric against Moscow or Beijing evaporates when negotiating with a partner that maintains close ties with both.
Agriculture is the most sensitive chapter
As in all recent trade agreements, agriculture remains the most contentious issue. India staunchly protects a sector that employs 44% of its active population, and has made it clear it will not open its market to “sensitive” products such as rice or dairy. For its part, Brussels has warned that if Delhi insists on excluding those sectors, additional imports of Indian sugar into the European market will be blocked.
Farmer associations across Europe have argued that the deal would increase imports from India under different standards and costs than those facing EU producers. They point to similar challenges from the Mercosur agreement and rising imports from Ukraine, combined with EU climate regulations that they say apply unevenly to domestic and foreign producers.
Washington squeezes, Brussels accommodates
The final push for these negotiations also has an international backdrop: the United States recently imposed 50% tariffs on Indian products, forcing Delhi to seek alternative markets. Brussels is taking advantage of that situation to present itself as a reliable partner, but it does so without demanding guarantees to protect European producers.
Trade with India may benefit certain European industrial sectors. Agricultural groups, however, warn that farmers and livestock breeders face tougher competition from cheaper imports produced under different rules.
The Commission speaks of a “strategic partnership” and a “defining pact of the century.” Farmer groups counter that Europe risks sacrificing agricultural interests for broader geopolitical and trade goals.
