“Some call it the mother of all deals, one that would create a market of two billion people, accounting for almost a quarter of the global GDP,” Von der Leyen said, adding that "Europe wants to do business with the growth centres of today and the economic powerhouses of this century".

The European Commission President said she will be in India next week.

Trade Pacts With EU, Chile

While all eyes are on the India-EU trade pact, New Delhi is also close to inking a pact with Chile, which may not have created the same kind of buzz. Nevertheless, the deal will be crucial, as the South American nation is not only sitting on one of the largest lithium reserves in the world, but is also a leading producer of copper.

The India-Chile trade pact will be a win-win due to the rich mineral resources. This will go a long way in helping India, and its needs to maintain energy and mineral security

— Pankaj Chadha, Partner & CEO, Jyoti Steel Industries, and Chairman, Engineering Export Promotion Council (EEPC)

Earlier this month, US President Donald Trump threatened to increase the tariffs to 500% on countries that continue to purchase crude and other energy items from Russia.

Though the Indian bourses felt the heat immediately after Trump’s proposal was made public, it was rather short-lived, and the indices made a comeback within days. Sentiments in the exporting community did not dampen either.

Despite the 50% tariff imposed by Washington on Indian imports, New Delhi registered a growth in outbound shipments in 2025, renewing hopes of the country’s exporters. Diversification of exports and markets has helped India in managing to weather the tariff storm.

India-US Bilateral Trade Agreements

Meanwhile, the India-US bilateral trade agreements (BTA) have been put on the back burner.

Sources say that New Delhi is no longer keen on entering into a trade pact with the US, given the current geopolitical and geoeconomic dynamics.

“Somewhere the exporting community has now accounted for business without the US market, the tariff shock was immense when it was initially announced, but the overall impact has been limited, though the going has been tough for a few sectors such as textiles and handicrafts,” Chadha said.

For example, in 2025, exports of electronics goods, driven by smartphones, exceeded $47 billion, which is ₹4.15 lakh crore as per official data. This was a 37% rise from $34.93 billion in 2024.

Amid the swiftly changing tariff dynamics, most countries are looking at recalibrating their trade deals.

India has decided to aggressively continue with trade pacts with other partner countries.

Eurasian Economic Union

Last year, India inked several pacts with the UK, Oman, and New Zealand.  

Apart from that, talks have also been initiated with the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), which comprises Armenia, Kazakhstan, Belarus, and the Kyrgyz Republic, besides Russia. The terms of reference (ToR) have been put in place. India and Canada have also decided to work on the scope of a trade pact.