Washington: In one of the first public comments by a senior Trump administration official on the unveiling of a historic trade deal between India and the European Union, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said that India “comes out on top” while evaluating the terms as New Delhi could benefit significantly through more market access for its low cost goods and potentially more immigration to the EU.
“I’ve looked at some of the details of the deal so far. I think India comes out on top on this, frankly. They get more market access into Europe. It sounds like they have some additional immigration rights. I don’t know for sure, but President (Ursula) von der Leyen of the EU has talked about mobility for Indian workers into Europe. So I think on net, India is going to have a heyday with this. They have low-cost labour,” said Greer in a television interview with Fox Business on Tuesday. He added that a “trade dependent” Europe was turning to India in order to find outlets for its “overproduction”.
“This is great news for Czech companies, but also for our entire economy. The European Union has concluded a landmark agreement that will significantly help mutual trade relations,” said Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis.
“I warmly welcome the India-European Union Free Trade Agreement. It opens up significant opportunities for Irish exporters, particularly in the indigenous food and drink sectors,” said Irish Prime Minister Michael Martin.
Greer also addressed Washington’s 25% tariff penalty on Indian goods for purchasing Russian oil, which went into effect in August 2025. While acknowledging that India had made “a lot of progress” on reducing purchases of Russian energy, Greer said New Delhi has to do more.
“They (India) like the discount that you get from Russian oil; it’s close by, so it’s hard for them. The Treasury Department has put into place - a few weeks ago now - more significant sanctions so we expect India to continue to wind that down, but we’re watching it closely,” Greer added.
Indian energy purchases from Russia have declined over the last few months, partly due to US sanctions against energy majors Rosneft and Lukoil. According to the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air, India’s crude oil imports from Russia dropped a sharp 29% month on month in December.
Greer’s statements also come at a time when US trade talks with both the EU and India have faced difficulties. Following the Trump administration’s push to acquire Greenland, EU countries held off on ratifying the 27-nation bloc’s trade deal with the US.
Meanwhile, an India-US free trade agreement has remained elusive despite multiple rounds of talks since February 2025.
India and the US have made “very significant” progress in talks for a bilateral trade agreement, and Indian negotiators remained in contact with their American counterparts to work on a positive outcome even while concluding the mega trade deal with the European Union (EU), people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.
Most of the discussions for the trade deal with the US, which has been stalled since President Donald Trump hit Indian goods with 50% tariffs last year, have been completed and the pact needs to be cleared by the top leadership on both sides to get across the line, the people said on condition of anonymity.
Curated by Aisha Patel
