New Delhi: India and the European Union have ironed out the details of their trade deal, which is due to be signed later this year. They have reached consensus on nearly half the topics due to be covered, excluding certain “sensitive” areas like dairy and some farm products, report Andres Schipani, John Reed and Andy Bounds in the Financial Times.
“The progress will fuel hopes that a deal between New Delhi and Brussels can help offset some of the impact on both sides’ trade from the tariffs imposed or threatened by US President Donald Trump,” the report reads. A “person familiar with the matter” also said that the deal will be finalised by December.
Meanwhile, Sanjay Kathuria argues in Foreign Policy that India is a “tariff outlier” and Donald Trump’s tariff blitz could help the country slip into a new role as a more prominent player in global trade.
“It seems the stage is set for the world’s most populous country to take on a more prominent role in world trade. But India is being held back by a diffident approach to trade. Between 2015 and 2022, India’s simple average tariffs rose from 13.4 to 18.1 percent. Despite declining to 17 percent in 2023, its tariffs rates are significantly higher than those of countries with which it is competing for a share of the China+1 pie…,” he writes.
Kathuria adds: “…The recent rise in import barriers—aimed at promoting Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “Make in India” initiative and reviving a manufacturing sector in decline relative to the rest of the economy—ignores the lessons of India’s post-1991 economic success, when a macroeconomic crisis gave India’s policymakers the political space to liberalise onerous trade, industrial, financial, and foreign exchange policies.”
Gautam Adani has landed in hot water for purportedly importing Iranian LPG cylinders through the Mundra port, with the US Department of Justice investigating if his companies violated US sanctions on Iran, after the bribery case indictment last year, a Wall Street Journal report by Ben Foldy and David Michael reveals.
“A Wall Street Journal investigation into tankers that regularly traveled between Mundra and the Persian Gulf found their behaviour often exhibited traits seen by ships seeking to evade sanctions,” the report reads. The Adani Group has categorically denied “any deliberate engagement in sanctions evasion or trade involving Iranian-origin LPG”.
US President Donald Trump has hit back at purchasers of Iranian petrochemical products, saying that they would not be allowed to do business with the US.
“A Journal investigation into a group of LPG tankers making journeys between the Adani-run Mundra port and the Persian Gulf since early 2024 found they showcase signs that ship trackers say are typically evidence of ships attempting to obscure their activities,” the report adds.
India is grappling with a cruel medical paradox. It has been able to procure 80 percent of the total quantity of the antibiotics, which tackle carbapenem-resistant Gram-negative (CRGN) infections, but has managed to treat only 7.8 percent of cases, reports Soutik Biswas for the BBC.
“The irony is cruel. While the world tries to curb antibiotic overuse, a parallel tragedy plays out quietly in poorer nations: people dying from treatable infections because the right drugs are out of reach,” the report reads.
The business impact of Operation Sindoor continues to be seen. “Indian aviation is shedding all things Turkey,” writes Veena Venugopal in the India Business Briefing newsletter of Financial Times. Indigo must terminate its leasing agreement with Turkish Airlines by 31 August. This comes after Turkish ground management provider Çelebi’s security clearance was cancelled last month, a matter which is now in court.
“Taken together, these moves in the aviation sector have established that India is unafraid to use access to its huge market to punish companies for the geopolitical alliances of their governments. (Aside, I did not know there was so much Turkish involvement in Indian aviation.) For local airlines, this means any alliance with a global player now comes with the risk of disruptions induced by geopolitical tensions. Conditions are ripe for Indian companies to expand their scope and build capacity in these areas,” Venugopal observes.
A report by Roli Srivastava and Rakhi Ghosh in The Guardian looks at how women of Odisha’s Murgapahadi village have been enlisted to fight against forest fires—by singing devotional songs, in a revival of a 15th century tradition.
“[The] troupe of 17, nine of whom are women, were curious but hesitant when the forest department called them in January. They were given a poem, which the women set to a rhythm. The next morning, they walked around the village singing: ‘Listen listen my dear sisters, brothers, don’t set fire to the forest. If the forest survives, we survive … we get a healthy climate’,” it reads.
Some areas have observed a 20 to 30 percent drop since they were inducted into the fold, according to the state’s deputy conservator, forests.
(Edited by Mannat Chugh)
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