Was Donald Trump a ‘unifier’ in India-EU trade deal? Watch Minister Piyush Goyal's response

India-EU trade deal: Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal was asked on Tuesday whether US President Donald Trump had acted as a ‘unifier’ in pushing India and the European Union towards the ambitious free trade agreement that has just been finalised.

Noting that both India and several European countries had been hit by US tariffs, a journalist from Euronews asked at a press conference how much of a unifying factor — beyond the deal’s win-win nature — President Trump had been.

Both India and European countries were hit by tariffs, a jounalist asked Goyal at a press conference on Tuesday. How much of a unifier beyond the win-win was President Donald Trump, the journalist asked.

"I do not think we even discussed this at any point of time," Goyal responded to the journalist from Euro News.

Earlier in the day, India and the 27-nation European Union (EU) concluded talks for the agreement, which is being described as 'mother of all deals'. The deal will further strengthen India-EU collaboration across key policy areas such as trade, security and defence, the clean transition and people-to-people cooperation.

The deal is expected to double EU exports to India by 2032 by eliminating or reducing tariffs in 96.6% of traded goods by value, and will lead to savings of 4 billion euros ($4.75 billion) in duties for European companies, the EU said.

The timing of the India-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA) is significant. It comes amid heightened geopolitical turbulence and market uncertainty, driven in part by US President Donald Trump’s tariff postures and a Russia-Ukraine war that shows no signs of resolution.

Donald Trump has repeatedly targeted Europe with tariffs, arguing that the EU enjoys an “unfair” trade surplus with the US. For Europe, renewed Trump-era tariffs raise fears of higher export costs, trade retaliation and economic uncertainty. This is precisely why the India-EU trade deal is being seen as strategically important amid shifting global trade alignments.

Earlier this month ,President Trump intensified his push to acquire Greenland, imposing a 10% import tax from February on goods coming from eight European countries over their opposition to US control of Greenland

"Every agreement stands on its own legs, and this is a wonderful agreement. It'll be taken up for a legal scrubbing on a fast track basis...We do hope that we should be able to celebrate the entry into force of this agreement within calendar 2026 itself," Goyal said while responding to a question at a special briefing on the state visit of the President of the EU Council and the President of the EU Commission to India.

Taken together, India and the EU account for 25 per cent of the global GDP and one-third (about USD 11 trillion) of the international trade (about USD 33 trillion).

The minister further said that the European Union and India, leaving the sensitive issues aside, have come up with a "balanced, equitable, and fair" free trade agreement, which is a win-win for all sections of industry, both in India and the European Union.

The EU has become India's 22nd FTA partner.

The NDA government, since 2014, has signed trade deals with Mauritius, the UAE, the UK, EFTA, Oman and Australia, and announced trade deals with New Zealand. In 2025, India signed a trade deal with Oman and the UK and announced the conclusion of a trade deal with New Zealand.

(With agency inputs)