Partner Allyship

The fortuitous timing of the event made it all the more significant: the entire European Commission leadership arrived in India as US President Donald Trump, in his first cabinet meeting, reaffirmed that he would impose a 25% trade protection tariff on EU goods exported to the US market.

Mr. Trump went further when he said that the EU was established to destroy the United States and make the United States lose money and owe tens of billions of dollars. Previously, India was also threatened with tariffs by Mr. Trump and the incident has only temporarily subsided and has not been resolved during the recent trip to the United States by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcomes European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in New Delhi, India

Recent developments and new policies of the Trump administration challenge the EU and India on many fronts and urge India and the EU to come closer, unify their views and coordinate their actions more effectively to become true allies without having to form an alliance together.

The EU’s level of importance to India can be seen in the fact that all members of the European Commission are visiting India on this occasion. Only by relying on each other can the response be truly effective and adequate to the extent necessary to deal with both China and the new administration in the US. The EU-India relationship helps both sides to be less dependent on the US market and minimize the negative impact of US trade protection tariffs. The goal both sides are aiming for is a bilateral free trade agreement. To deal with China, both sides must successfully implement the initiative on the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC). The times force both sides to move towards partner alliance.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/dong-minh-hoa-doi-tac-185250227233441232.htm