Tricky Balance

India and the European Union (EU) appear to be in the final stages of negotiating a free trade agreement (FTA) in Brussels.

- 

The stated aim is to get the deal done by the end of this year. The accelerated attempts to finalize the long-pending FTA can be seen against the background of the recent India-US talks on trade and tariffs, where the US was assertive about reducing Indian tariffs on US goods, and India, to an extent, submitted to the idea—at least in theory.

The EU, too, wants India to reduce tariffs on key exports like dairy, wine, and automobiles. European winemakers, in particular, are pushing for a reduction in India's 150 per cent tariff on imported wines, while certain automakers want duties on fully built-up cars lowered from 100-125 per cent to around 10-20 per cent. The goal, it seems, is to make European goods more competitive in the Indian market. Juxtapose it with the situation in the US, where President Donald Trump has set April 2 as a deadline for reductions in "unfair tariffs".