WASHINGTON DC: Washington reacted with unease after India and the European Union sealed a landmark free trade agreement, with influential lawmakers, top administration officials, and policy experts warning that America risks being sidelined.
With this trade deal, New Delhi and Brussels will reshape global trade and strategic alignments, they feared.
Senator Mark Kelly said the deal reflects growing frustration among US allies with Washington's trade approach. "The EU has signed a trade and security deal with India. Canada and the UK are negotiating with China," the Arizona Democrat said in a post on X.
"This is happening because Donald Trump has alienated our allies," Kelly said. He warned that such moves carry costs for the United States. "These arrangements our allies are making with other countries have an effect on us, and it isn't good," he said.
The India-EU agreement was announced this week in New Delhi. Leaders on both sides have described it as the largest trade pact in India's history. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called it "the mother of all deals."
She said the pact creates "a free-trade zone of 2 billion people, with both sides set to benefit." The agreement links two of the world's largest economies at a time of global trade tensions and geopolitical uncertainty.
In Washington, policy experts said the agreement should be a warning for the US trade strategy. The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation said the deal shows how other major economies are moving ahead while the United States falls behind.
"The European Union and India's free trade agreement should be a wake-up call in Washington," said Rodrigo Balbontin, associate director for trade, intellectual property, and digital technology governance at ITIF. He said the United States is being left "on the sidelines" as other countries cut tariffs and set new trade rules. (IANS)
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