EU-India FTA 'Mother of All Trade Deals,' Says Poland's Michal Baranowski

EU-India FTA huge deal for Europe, including Polish businesses: Poland's Undersecretary of State Michal Baranowski

New Delhi, July 14

Speaking with ANI, the Undersecretary described the India-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA) as the "mother of all trade agreements" and highlighted the massive commercial footprint the deal carries for European nations, including Poland.

"EU-India FTA is really a huge deal for Europe, and mother of all trade agreements, as it was mentioned both by Prime Minister Modi and President of European Commission Ursula von der Leyen," Baranowski remarked while detailing the broader strategic architecture.

The Undersecretary revealed that Poland is strategically planning high-profile diplomatic engagements, including an upcoming state visit by Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, to align with these emerging market opportunities. "It's something that gives opportunities to all of our businesses, including Polish businesses. That's why we are timing our economic commission, our visit of the prime minister in such a way."

He emphasised that the newly established trade framework provides the necessary momentum to aggressively scale up the existing economic baseline between the two nations.

"Polish-India trade is now at the level of $6 billion or euro per year," Baranowski stated, weaving the continental deal directly into Poland's economic target. "We should think about a little bit how long it will take us to double it. Perhaps we'll make some announcements around the visit of Prime Minister."

"We are really at the cusp of a new chapter in our economic relation, also political relationship, with Prime Minister Donald Tusk coming to India later this fall," Baranowski told ANI. "It will have, of course, political dimension, but also very strong economic dimension," he added.

Highlighting specific sectors primed for high-tech collaboration, Baranowski pointed to Poland's rapidly advancing space capabilities as a major area of mutual interest.

"Poland is building up a very robust space industry. We are investing a lot also through the European Space Agency... Perhaps the one area that I will highlight specifically is satellite, where Polish companies, European companies have a very good capabilities, good technologies, and that's something that might be an area where we can grow further," the Undersecretary said, adding that "space, IT, defence is also an area where we will be exploring, because of our defence industry has grown so much and we are already present in India, I think that there could be another boost to our relationship."

Notably, the proposed India-European Union Free Trade Agreement (FTA), expected to enter into force in the first quarter of 2027, could help India redirect exports worth an estimated USD 10-11 billion from the United States to the European Union, reducing dependence on a single export market while expanding India's presence in Europe, according to a report by Rubix Data Science.

The report said that by streamlining customs procedures and reducing technical and regulatory barriers, the India-EU FTA could reinvigorate bilateral goods trade and help diversify India's export destinations beyond the major EU member states.

It stated, "Export diversification efforts could also help India redirect a portion of exports currently bound for the United States, with an estimated USD10-11billion potential shift into the EU market"

The report said the FTA is expected to significantly improve India's international competitiveness by gradually phasing out tariffs on key labour-intensive and high-value export sectors, including textiles, leather, engineering goods and chemicals.

— ANI