‘India comes out on top’: US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer on India-EU FTA

With more market access into Europe, India has come out on top with the India-European Union free trade agreement (FTA), said US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer. He said India and the EU have been trying to find other avenues for their goods after US President Donald Trump announced his tariffs. 

“First of all, strategically it's important to understand that because President Trump has prioritised domestic production and essentially started charging a fee for other countries to access our market, these countries are trying to find other outlets for their overproduction and so the EU is turning to India to try to find a place,” Greer told Fox Business.

“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,” he said, adding, “It sounds like they have some additional immigration rights. I don't know for sure but President 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 labor and it looks like the EU is doubling down on globalization when we're trying to fix some of the problems of globalisation here in the US,” said Greer.

The India-EU FTA was around two decades in the making. The FTA has been touted as the ‘mother of all deal’, under which 93 per cent of Indian shipments would enjoy duty-free access to the 27-nation bloc. Meanwhile, import of luxury cars and wines would become cheaper for Indians. 

The deal is momentous as India and EU together account for 25 per cent of the global GDP and one-third of international trade. 

"This is not just a trade agreement. This is a new blueprint for shared prosperity," Prime Minister Narendra Modi said after the announcement of the pact.