In this episode of The Sound of Economics, host Rebecca Christie is joined by Professor Amita Batra, of Jawaharlal Nehru University's Centre for South Asian Studies, and Bruegel Senior Fellow Ignacio Garcia Bercero to discuss the European Union-India trade relationship and its potential. What scope is there for a free trade agreement, particularly regarding tricky sectors like steel and automotive manufacturing? How will Europe’s new Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism affect the dynamic? Is there room for closer cooperation given the geopolitical pressures posed by the United States and China? Working together, India’s growth and the EU’s trade experience have the potential to find more common ground, if political obstacles can be overcome.

Related research: 

Batra, A. (2022) India’s Trade Policy in the 21st Century, Routledge
García-Bercero, I. and A. Sapir (2025) ‘The time is right to make a European Union-India trade deal happen’, Policy Brief 19/2025, Bruegel

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