Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on September 18, 2025
1 min readLast updated: January 21, 2026
Add as preferred source on GoogleThe EU aims to secure trade deals with India to reduce dependency on the US, with ongoing talks with other countries like South Africa and Malaysia.
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)
The EU aims to finalize a trade deal with India this year to reduce dependencies, particularly in light of higher U.S. import tariffs.
The EU is currently in discussions with South Africa, Malaysia, the United Arab Emirates, and others to diversify its trade relationships.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi assured European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen of his commitment to establishing a trade deal this year.
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