The Tamesis
The European Union and India may sign a free trade agreement as early as the end of this month, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said after meeting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday.
Mertz said during a visit to the western Indian city of Ahmedabad that if the agreement is finalized, the presidents of the European Commission and the European Council will travel to India at the end of January to sign the agreement.
“In any case, they will take another big step forward to ensure the implementation of this free trade agreement,” Mertz said on his first visit to India as prime minister.
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Negotiations were previously expected to conclude by the end of this year. However, expectations are high for a deal to be signed at the end of January after “very intensive” talks between Merz and Modi, according to German government sources.
Indian Trade Minister Piyush Goyal told a separate event in the western state of Gujarat that the deal was in its final stages.
‘Unfortunate protectionism’
Merz said the world was experiencing an “unfortunate resurgence of protectionism” that was hurting Germany and India.
He did not name any country. The United States has been applying tariff pressure on India to stop buying Russian oil and gas, which Washington and the European Union believe are being used to fund the war in Ukraine.
Chinese Mineral Export ControlsSupply chains for areas such as automobiles were disrupted for months last year due to the U.S.-China trade war, affecting German automakers.
Beijing also Restrictions on some semiconductors widely used in the automotive industry This comes after the Dutch government decided to seize control of Chinese chipmaker Nexperia.
For the EU, signing a deal with India would follow the EU’s Agreement reached with South American Mercosur group on Friday It would mark another step in creating a trade network of its own as the United States shakes up global trade and helps reduce dependence on China.
Germany especially hopes Cooperate more closely with India on security issues and reduce the latter’s dependence on RussiaMerz said.
In addition to agreements on critical minerals, the health sector and an innovation center for artificial intelligence, the countries also signed a memorandum of understanding.
“The MoUs signed today on all these issues will bring new impetus and strength to our cooperation,” Modi said at a joint press conference with Merz.
India still cooperates closely with Russia on security policy and most of its military equipment is made in Russia. It is also one of the largest buyers of Russian gas and oil, alongside China.
Germany is urging the Indian government to ensure that Indian companies are prevented from circumventing sanctions on Russia and to reduce energy imports from Russia – but India has so far rejected these demands.
Indian refiners happy to get Venezuelan oil
The likelihood of this happening appears to have increased as India has been in trade talks with the United States since early last year and Indian refiners have said they would be happy to buy oil from Venezuela, potentially replacing a sizeable amount of oil currently imported from Russia.
trust Gujarat Industries Ltd, the world’s largest refinery operator, completed its purchase of Russian oil last month and said on Thursday it would consider buying Venezuelan Oil – if sales to non-U.S. buyers are allowed.
“We are awaiting clarity on access VenezuelaNon-U.S. buyers purchase oil and will consider purchasing oil in a compliant manner. “ trust industry said in an emailed response to Reuters.
state oil refinery Indian Oil companies and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation will also consider buying VenezuelaThat would be if oil sales to non-U.S. companies were allowed, industry sources said.
Caracas and Washington reach deal this week to export up to $2 billion worth of products VenezuelaAfter the US military captured President Nicolás Maduro on January 3, it exported approximately 30-50 million barrels of crude oil to the United States.
trust stop buying VenezuelaPresident Donald Trump announced a 25% tariff on countries buying crude oil from South American producers starting in March 2025. The group received the final VenezuelaOil cargoes in May last year.
trustThe two refineries in western Gujarat have a combined capacity of about 1.4 million barrels of crude oil per day, which will enable them to process cheaper and heavier crude oil, such as VenezuelaIt’s Mere.
“if Venezuela“When oil re-enters global markets, they are likely to be discounted, improving feedstock selectivity and economics for compatible refineries, even if output remains limited,” said Sumit Ritola, refining and modeling analyst at Kpler.
- Reuters Additional input and editing by Jim Pollard
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