Early in 2026, “(a)fter months
of intense negotiations,” the E.U. concluded “a free-trade deal with India,”
which, if ratified by the E.U.’s upper and lower chambers (the European Council
and the European Parliament), would sharply reduce “tariffs on E.U. products
from cars to wine as the world looks for alternative markets following
President Donald Trump’s tariffs.”[1]
Signaling that something more than trade was involved in the treaty, “(b)oth
countries hailed a ‘new chapter in strategic relations’ as both sides”
sought “alternatives to the US market.”[2]
The E.U. had just engineered a free-trade treaty with four South American
countries. Competition for better, cheaper, trade was reducing Trump’s bargaining
power by means of tariffs. Using them to inflict geopolitical harm on other
countries, including the E.U., would become less effective as free-trade deals
excluding the U.S. materialized. The implications, and even the motive in the
free-trade negotiations between the E.U. and India, extend beyond economics.
The full essay is at "E.U.-India Trade."
2. Ibid., italics added.