EU needs deals with India, others to reduce US dependency, von der Leyen says

BERLIN (Reuters) -The European Union must look to trade deals with countries like India to reduce dependencies, with higher U.S. import tariffs pushing the bloc to diversity its ties, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Thursday.

"We want to make a deal with India this year," von der Leyen said at a conference with German business leaders, adding that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had assured her of his commitment to this goal in a phone call on Wednesday.

"We are in talks with South Africa, Malaysia, the United Arab Emirates and others," she added.

(Reporting by Christian Kraemer and Rachel More, Editing by Madeline Chambers)