[ad_1]
The European Union has signed what India’s prime minister has referred to as “the mom of all offers” to spice up commerce with India. For Europe, the transfer seeks to hedge in opposition to its unpredictable ties to the U.S.
MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:
The European Union and India finalized a landmark commerce deal as we speak. India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, referred to as it the mom of all offers. For Europe, the transfer seeks to hedge in opposition to its unpredictable ties to the U.S. below the Trump administration. NPR Berlin correspondent Rob Schmitz is right here to go over the small print. Hello, Rob.
ROB SCHMITZ, BYLINE: Hey, Mary Louise.
KELLY: The mom of all offers.
SCHMITZ: Oh, yeah.
KELLY: Simply how huge a commerce deal is that this?
SCHMITZ: So in financial phrases, this deal is historic. I imply, it might have financial reverberations the world over. And as soon as this deal is signed – and we count on it to be signed within the coming weeks – the 27 member states of the EU will reduce tariffs on 99.5% of practically all items imported from India over the subsequent seven years. Meaning Indian textiles, chemical substances, rubber, base metals for cars. All of this may all of the sudden be cheaper within the EU. Now for the EU’s half, India will cut back tariffs on practically 97% of European items, resulting in a financial savings of practically $5 billion and an expectation that European exports to India will double over the subsequent six years. European leaders had been ecstatic about this as we speak. This is European Council President Antonio Costa.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
ANTONIO COSTA: At a time when the worldwide order is being basically reshaped, the European Union and India stand collectively as a strategic and dependable companions. At the moment, we’re taking our partnership to the subsequent degree.
KELLY: Rob, what about there in Germany? You are sitting in Europe’s largest financial system. What might this imply for German business?
SCHMITZ: Effectively, this could possibly be simply what the physician ordered for Germany’s very lackluster financial system. German automakers have been shedding jobs and income for years now because of competitors from China and rising power prices. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has but to make an official go to to China, not like his predecessors. He determined as a substitute to go to India. He did that earlier this month as a part of these commerce discussions, and he introduced German enterprise leaders like Volkswagen CEO Oliver Blume, who spoke to German newspaper Die Welt as we speak about how he’s feeling about this.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
OLIVER BLUME: (Talking German).
SCHMITZ: And Mary Louise, he is saying right here that India is now the third-largest automotive market on this planet. It is creating quickly, and this deal means huge alternatives for Volkswagen. And it is price mentioning right here that this commerce deal will imply India slashes tariffs from as excessive as 110% to only 10% over a five-year interval on European automobiles, so that may be a very huge deal for Volkswagen. And Blume additionally mentioned VW has invested closely within the U.S. market these previous years however that his firm can’t maintain opening factories there if President Trump continues to impose tariffs on European items.
KELLY: Effectively, I used to be going to ask. It prompts the query, how a lot of the timing of this deal taking place now – how a lot does it must do with President Trump’s tariffs and the threats to grab Greenland and all of that?
SCHMITZ: Yeah, so the EU and India have been engaged on this deal for twenty years, however economists are telling me that they assume the timing of this has every thing to do with Trump’s threats. It is also not a coincidence that the EU additionally signed a commerce cope with the South American bloc, Mercosur, this month as effectively. The EU is trying elsewhere to promote its merchandise as a result of it is changing into clear that it will possibly not belief the USA if President Trump retains threatening tariffs each time the EU pushes again on him for political causes, the latest being his want to take Greenland. In order we’re seeing, the EU, which is, as an financial system, among the many prime three on this planet, is now trying previous the USA to make historic commerce offers like this one.
KELLY: Wow. NPR Berlin correspondent Rob Schmitz – thanks, Rob.
SCHMITZ: Thanks.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)
Copyright © 2026 NPR. All rights reserved. Go to our web site phrases of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for additional info.
Accuracy and availability of NPR transcripts could fluctuate. Transcript textual content could also be revised to appropriate errors or match updates to audio. Audio on npr.org could also be edited after its unique broadcast or publication. The authoritative report of NPR’s programming is the audio report.
[ad_2]
