Business groups in Ireland have welcomed the announcement of an EU-India trade deal, after nearly two decades of negotiations, which will see tariffs on 90% of goods exported to India either reduced or eliminated.
The deal will see Indian tariffs on 30% of goods imported from the EU fall to zero immediately, while tariffs will either be eliminated or reduced on 90% of EU exports. The EU Commission estimates EU firms will save up to €4bn a year in duties.
It will also simplify customs rules and stronger intellectual property protections as well as improve access to India for EU firms in financial and maritime services.
India’s duties on vehicles imported from the EU will reduce from 110% to 10% over five years, under a 250,000 vehicle annual quota, likely benefitting large German and French manufacturers.
India will completely scrap tariffs on most industrial imports from the EU, including machinery and electrical equipment, chemicals, and pharmaceuticals.
In terms of Indian exports to the EU, the EU will scrap tariffs on 90% of Indian goods, with zero tariffs to be extended to 93% of Indian goods within seven years.
The deal is part of moves on both sides to deepen economic ties amid aggressive tariff policies coming out of the US and the Donald Trump administration.
EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen called the agreement “the mother of all deals,” adding the accord “created a free trade zone of two billion people, with both sides set to benefit”.
Indian prime minister Narendra Modi hailed the agreement as a means of strengthening India’s manufacturing and services sectors, while boosting investor confidence in Asia’s third-largest economy.
“India has completed its biggest and most historic free trade agreement,” he said at a joint press briefing in New Delhi.
“This historic agreement will make it easier for our farmers and small businesses to reach the European markets.”
Chambers Ireland chief executive Ian Talbot said welcomed the EU-India deal as the “best deal any trade partner has secured with India and the joint commitment to economic openness and rules-based trade is vitally important”.
“This will give businesses the first‑mover advantage in one of the fastest‑growing major economies in the world and it will create the world’s largest free trade area.”
Mr Talbot said the deal supported “diversification of our global trading partners while excluding sensitive sectors such as beef and chicken”.
“Extensive controls will be in place to ensure that imports meet stringent EU standards and to protect the market here,” Mr Talbot said.
Irish Whiskey Association director Eoin Ó Catháin said the deal would “greatly ease trade with the biggest whiskey market in the world, and it facilitates market diversification at a pivotal time for our sector”.
The association said India was among the fastest growing markets for Irish whiskey, with sales reaching over 700,000 cases in 2024 despite a high tariff of 150% being in place.
The conclusion of negotiations reflects the rapidly shifting global alignment under US president Donald Trump. The EU, despite long clashing with Indian officials on trade policy, is focused on paring back its economic reliance on the US and China.
India is trying to shake its protectionist reputation and offset a 50% Trump tariff, while at the same time balance ties with Russia.
