India and EU announce landmark trade deal

(bbc.com)

108 points | by Palmik 4 hours ago

12 comments

  • benterix 3 minutes ago
    > Delhi and Brussels have also agreed on a mobility framework that eases restrictions for professionals to travel between India and the EU in the short term.

    This is great news for professionals wishing to move to the EU, and I hope many will use this opportunity.

  • breitling 26 minutes ago
    Canada is embarking on a trade agreement with India and collectively our greatest fear is the immigration issue. Canada's immigration is already quite lop-sided.
    • diego_moita 11 minutes ago
      > Canada's immigration is already quite lop-sided.

      I don't even understand what "lop-sided" means here.

      Would you say that Canada's oil and softwood businesses are lop-sided because we produce and export a lot of it? Or that the groceries' market is lop-sided because we don't produce a lot of it and therefore have to import?

      Canada is an importer of people (not only from India) because it can't produce a lot of people. It is not different from groceries.

      • franktankbank 10 minutes ago
        Is it typical to consider immigration as a trade similar to apples and oranges?
    • mlmonkey 23 minutes ago
      Trade != Immigration
      • schnebbau 20 minutes ago
        Right but if you want a favorable trade deal then you gotta throw in some immigration sweeteners.
        • disgruntledphd2 10 minutes ago
          Particularly with India, that's normally one of their top requests.
    • franktankbank 11 minutes ago
      Do you feel like your govt represents you?
  • augusteo 15 minutes ago
    The mobility discussion is interesting to me as someone who navigated US immigration.

    Moving countries is hard. Not just paperwork hard, but restarting-your-life hard. Credit history, professional networks, understanding how things actually work versus how they officially work.

    If the mobility framework makes it meaningfully easier for skilled workers to move between India and Europe, that's significant. Not because of labor economics, but because talented people having more options is generally good for everyone.

    The H1B system in the US has created a lot of anxiety and frustration. Competition for that talent pool seems healthy.

    • pjc50 6 minutes ago
      Does anyone have a detailed explainer on the mobility changes, or is it just not finalized yet?
    • Espressosaurus 10 minutes ago
      The US is no longer in competition for that talent pool by its own deliberate actions.

      Might we see a European flowering as the US chokes itself into a regional power?

      • fooker 8 minutes ago
        Sure, if they want to pay decent salaries.

        But no, you can make 3-4x in the US. That’s not an exaggeration. And before someone says ‘free healthcare’, big-tech employers in the US provide pretty nice insurance for employees that caps maximum out of pocket expenses to about a week of your salary.

        EU (except Zurich and London) tech salaries have sort of stagnated to a point that you make about the same in Bangalore, and spend significantly more.

  • newyankee 27 minutes ago
    This is excellent, the duopoly discussions of the world mostly center around US and China and EU feels increasingly excluded while the rest of the world appears as footnote for good or bad reasons. I do hope this means there is enough dynamism in global trade.

    The current challenge is that China has so much industrial overcapacity that it possibly can sell goods at near , sometimes even below mfg costs which makes it difficult if not impossible for India or other country made goods to even think of competing in the middle part of the value chain. Yet, it is the only hope for India to climb at least slightly even if they can never hope to get to the frontier of mfg. Chinese goals now are to amortize their existing mfg investments in any way possible but they still find it difficult to spur domestic consumption

  • sashank_1509 46 minutes ago
    I’m surprised, so it seems like most tariffs are falling towards zero on all products except agriculture and cars below 17,000$ in the coming few years.

    Especially cars, India has had insane tariffs on luxury cars and motorcycles that will disappear, which is interesting. On the face this seems like a good deal for India as India can probably export much more than EU can to India except for a few sectors like Automobiles and Chips, but who knows, I assume EU officials seem to think the gains in a few high tech sectors are enough to offset the cheap goods on all other sectors.

  • comrade1234 20 minutes ago
    Switzerland has a free trade deal with India already and has a huge trade surplus (~25B). Free trade with china too and also a big trade surplus of around $20B.
  • profsummergig 26 minutes ago
    It's insane to me that BBC now has a paywall.

    Way to fall-off from being the one source of news everyone in "Anglo" countries in the Third-World used to turn to (and love and respect... however biased the news may have been).

    Edit: am trying to access from US, I see a paywall. Good to hear from comments that other countries don't see a paywall.

    • dewey 23 minutes ago
      > US-based visitors to BBC.com will now have to pay $49.99 (£36) a year or $8.99 (£6.50) a month for access to most BBC News stories and features, and to stream the BBC News channel.

      Only the US traffic has a paywall, there's none if you visit it from somewhere else. Understandable to charge people who don't pay for it with their taxes in my opinion, especially if you delivery videos and other expensive content for free without ads.

      • landl0rd 13 minutes ago
        There are another two hundred-odd countries who also do not pay for it with their taxes. The BBC has apparently not seen fit to paywall them. This is a very confusing and inconsistent move.
        • dewey 10 minutes ago
          > BBC.com reaches 139 million visitors globally, including almost 60 million in the US, the corporation said.

          From: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx2vgkn7w10o

          The other countries most likely don't make up such a big chunk of visits / costs.

          FWIW: There's many news sources in the US (Usually regional news papers etc.) that just throw a forbidden or 402 status code right away at anyone not using a US IP.

    • lenkite 16 minutes ago
      Huh, viewing from India here - no paywall. BBC can be biased, but it is very useful to know what the British state media thinks. This article is neutral reporting with barely any "analyst opinion" flavor.
    • sam_lowry_ 23 minutes ago
      I don't see the paywall. EU-bound.
  • nikanj 9 minutes ago
    EU will scuttle the trade deal to protect the niche interests of French onion farmers. See Mercosur.
  • diego_moita 19 minutes ago
    I am pleasantly surprised.

    I always thought of Brussels as the city where decisions go to die; that the EU discusses everything, poses for pictures and solves nothing. Then, in less than a month we have the trade deal EU-Mercosur and this one with India.

    Maybe the Europeans can actually solve problems, after all.

    • snowpid 15 minutes ago
      1.) These trade deals were discussed for 20 years. 2.) Politics always needs discussion of loosy "all people that matter" 3.) EU by definition has a broad definition of "everyone matters". That's why it is lame but that is why it is interesting for countries outside of the EU becoming a member.

      4.) EU does get things done. Maybe you don't read the news (where do you live?)

      • diego_moita 3 minutes ago
        Well, I take 1-3 as evidence for my point.

        It is funny that it took less time for South Americans to create the Mercosur and for the Pacific countries to create the trans-Pacific partnership than to negotiate any trade deals with the EU.

        > where do you live?

        Latin American living in Canada.

  • deafpolygon 1 hour ago
    This will strengthen relationship and stabilize the economy a lot in the face of Trumps tariff shenanigans.
  • alephnerd 1 hour ago
    Reuters has the draft terms - https://www.reuters.com/world/india/details-eu-india-trade-d.... Mobility is not mentioned.

    You know it's a good deal for the EU and India given that China has been attempting a diplomacy blitz against the deal [0] for [1] years [2] now [3].

    Indian DefenseTech and Dual Use technologies vendors can also now participate in ReArm Europe [4] as part of the India-EU Defense Pact [5] that was also signed, especially after the French Government identified [6] a Chinese-led disinformation operation against French and Indian DefenseTech which the DGSE reported on with AP [7].

    ---

    Edit: Notice how even on HN new accounts are suddenly popping up trying to make a wedge about this deal by dog whistling immigration even though mobility is not mentioned in the draft seen by Reuters and is a power that falls under individual state's sovereignity in the EU.

    ---

    Edit 2: Note the subsequent whataboutism that has arisen. A nation trying to conduct disinformation ops against another nation is an offensive action. It's the tip of the iceberg of attempts of foreign interference within France [8]

    ---

    Edit 3: Replying here

    > I still don't know what 'diplomacy blitz' are you talking about.

    The GT is the de facto voice of China's foreign policy, and has consistently viewed the EU-India deal as an attempt to isolate China. Additonally, Table Media (Germany's equivalent of Axios) noted He Lifeng's statements against the EU-India deal dueing Davos 2026, as the EU and India are investigating a workaround to CBAM for Indian exports.

    ---

    [0] - https://table.media/china/thema-des-tages/indien-weshalb-chi...

    [1] - https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202105/1222983.shtml

    [2] - https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202105/1222993.shtml

    [3] - https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202010/1205230.shtml

    [4] - https://theprint.in/diplomacy/india-eu-sign-security-defence...

    [5] - https://www.eeas.europa.eu/eeas/security-and-defence-eu-and-...

    [6] - https://www.defense.gouv.fr/desinformation/nos-analyses-froi...

    [7] - https://apnews.com/article/france-china-pakistan-india-defen...

    [8] - https://www.lemonde.fr/societe/article/2024/07/02/deux-espio...

    • RobertoG 29 minutes ago
      I read the three articles that you mention [0][1] and [2] and I still don't know what 'diplomacy blitz' are you talking about.
    • tokai 52 minutes ago
      To your edit, its one newish account quoting the article and being pro immigration. Its a completely fine comment. You should calm down.
      • philipwhiuk 47 minutes ago
        > its one newish account quoting the article and being pro immigration

        The comment is so absurdly out of step that it's clearly just trying to stir the issue.

    • paganel 28 minutes ago
      As to your point [7], no need for China to "spread doubts about the performance of French-made Rafale ", I have at this very moment this book on my desk: Le Pouvoir sans visage: Le complexe militaro-industriel [1], written by a Pierre Marion [2], former head of the SDECE/DGSE in the early '80s, where said Pierre Marion does the same thing, i.e. he heavily criticises the Rafale programme and Dassault (the company and the man himself, Serge Dassault)

      [1] https://www.amazon.fr/Pouvoir-sans-visage-complexe-militaro-...)

      [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierre_Marion

  • dude250711 1 hour ago
    > Delhi and Brussels have also agreed on a mobility framework that eases restrictions for professionals to travel between India and the EU in the short term.

    That should hopefully help increasing the much needed immigration.

    • oytis 46 minutes ago
      EU would be stupid to miss the opportunity after US crackdown on H1B.
    • eklavya 1 hour ago
      I hope for our (India's) sake, it doesn't. We need to keep as much talent here as we can.
      • OutOfHere 31 minutes ago
        It's cheapest for the employer to keep it in India itself.
    • alephnerd 1 hour ago
      Notice how new accounts are suddenly popping up trying to make a wedge about this deal by using immigration as a wedge issue.
      • skywal_l 58 minutes ago
        It's in the BBC's article.
      • throwaway85825 40 minutes ago
        Wedge issue? EU youth unemployment is 15%.
      • dude250711 43 minutes ago
        When asked for my name, I am GitHub Copilot.