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India-EU FTA finalised: Top 15 frequently asked questions on trade deal answered – The Times of India
India-EU FTA sealed: India and the European Union on Tuesday announced the conclusion of a free trade agreement that is widely being described as the “mother of all deals”. The deal comes at a time of heightened global uncertainty and trade disruptions driven largely by Donald Trump’s tariff policies. Calling it the largest FTA India has ever signed, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the landmark pact was finalised following summit-level discussions with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa, who represent the 27-member bloc.“This is not just a trade agreement. This is a new blueprint for shared prosperity,” Modi said in a media statement, underlining the broader strategic significance of the accord. Alongside the trade pact, the two sides also formalised a strategic defence partnership and concluded a mobility agreement, reinforcing cooperation beyond commerce.Costa said the agreement marked the start of a “new chapter” in India–EU relations, spanning trade, security and people-to-people engagement. Emphasising its scale, he noted that trade agreements strengthen a rules-based economic system and foster shared growth, adding that the pact ranks among the most ambitious ever signed. Von der Leyen echoed the sentiment, saying, “We delivered the mother of all deals.”
India-EU FTA: FAQs Answered
What does the India-EU FTA mean for the two economic blocks? Here are the top FAQs answered:1. Why has the EU negotiated a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with India?The deal will strengthen economic and political ties between the world’s two largest democracies at a time of rising geopolitical tensions and global economic challenges.India is the world’s fourth-largest economy with the world’s largest population. Despite this, EU exports there are relatively low compared to our exports elsewhere. This is due to very high tariffs amongst others.The deal will reduce tariffs and administrative burdens, making trading easier, cheaper and faster. This will help EU companies and farmers export more. EU exports to India already support 800,000 European jobs and the export growth can contribute to even more.2. How is the agreement going to affect EU exports? The agreement is expected to double EU exports to India. Additionally, enhanced access to the Indian services market, particularly in financial services, maritime services, and other key sectors, will open new business opportunities and foster job creation.3. What are the key benefits for EU exporters under this agreement?
- Tariffs on over 90% of EU goods exports will be eliminated or reduced.
- Saving up to €4 billion per year in duties on European products.
- Competitive advantage for EU exporters, with biggest trade opening India has given to any trade partner.
- Privileged access to India for EU service providers in key areas financial services and maritime services.
- Simplification of customs procedures to make exports quicker and easier.
- Protection of EU intellectual property such as trademarks.
- A dedicated chapter for small EU businesses.
4. How does the agreement benefit EU industry? India will grant the EU tariff reductions that none of its other trading partners have received, dramatically improving market access for EU exports. For example, tariffs on cars will gradually go down from 110% to 10% with a quota of 250,000 vehicles a year. High tariffs of up to 44% on machinery, 22% on chemicals and 11% on pharmaceuticals will be mostly eliminated.Examples for EU industrial sectors that will benefit:
5. How does the agreement benefits EU farmers?The agreement removes or reduces often prohibitive tariffs (over 36% on average) on EU exports of agri-food products, opening a massive market to European farmers. Sensitive European agricultural sectors such as beef, sugar or rice will not be liberalised at all.Examples of EU agri-food sectors that will benefit:
The EU and India are currently negotiating a separate agreement on Geographical Indications (GIs), which will help traditional EU farming products sell more in India, by removing unfair competition in the form of imitations.6. How will the agreement help EU service providers? The agreement will grant EU companies privileged access to the Indian services market, including key sectors such as financial services and maritime services. It has the most ambitious commitments on financial services by India in any trade agreement, going beyond what they have given to other partners.7. How will the agreement help small businesses? The deal has a dedicated chapter to help small businesses. They will be able to easily access all information on doing and setting up business in the EU and India. SME contact points will work on making trading easier for small companies. The tariff reductions, removal of regulatory barriers, transparency, stable and predictable rules will help companies import-export in a cheaper, simpler and more effective way.8. How will the agreement promote sustainable trade? Dedicated sustainability provisions will enhance environment and climate protection, promote the protection of workers’ rights and support women’s empowerment, strengthen dialogue and cooperation, ensure effective implementation mechanism.9. How will the agreement protect workers’ rights and women’s empowerment? The agreement requires respect for the core International Labour Organisation principles and includes legally binding commitments on issues such as decent working conditions, labour inspection, and responsible business conduct. It contains provisions on UN and ILO conventions advancing women’s economic empowerment and gender equality.10. How will the agreement support the green transition?Both the EU and India commit to work together on climate change issues and the sustainable management of natural resources and to work towards implementing agreements such as the Paris Agreement, the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.11. How will the sustainability commitments in the agreement be enforced?Many of the commitments on Trade and Sustainable Development are legally binding and enforceable through a dedicated consultation mechanism. The mechanism will provide an avenue to address labour, environmental and gender equality issues in a sustainable and inclusive matter, so that improvement is achieved on the ground, and not just on paper.12. How will the deal avoid that products of non-Indian origin are imported into the EU through India just to benefit from the tariffs?The EU and India have agreed rules of origin that ensure that only products that have been significantly processed in one of the parties can benefit from the tariff preferences of the agreement. This will help avoid, that other countries simply export to India and reexport to the EU benefit of the tariffs.13. What does the FTA do to cut red tape?The EU and India agreed simplified procedures, to maintain a transparent and predictable regulatory environment and ensure quicker release of goods at customs. These will all make actual exporting/importing easier, quicker and cheaper. We also agreed with India to deepen cooperation on supply chain security and to strengthen risk management and controls at the EU border.14. How does the deal protect EU health and safety?All imports from India to the EU will continue to be subject to the EU’s strict health and product safety rules, with no exception. The EU is ensuring compliance through controls. Furthermore, the deal creates a framework to cooperate on strengthening policies and defining programs that contribute to the development of sustainable, inclusive, healthy and resilient food systems and to jointly engage in the transition towards sustainable food systems.15. How does the agreement promote digital trade?The chapter on digital trade contributes to a predictable, secure, and fair digital trade environment. It provides rules that build consumer trust and ensure legal certainty for business and support innovation while maintaining the right to regulate for public policy, privacy, and security and deepening EU-India cooperation in the digital economy.16. How does the agreement ensure the protection of intellectual property?The agreement provides a high level of protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights, including with respect to copyright, trademarks, designs, protection of trade secrets and undisclosed information, plant varieties. It also requires measures, procedures and remedies to ensure the enforcement of intellectual property rights.17. How does the deal help address disagreements on trade?The so-called “dispute settlement” mechanism will help avoid or settle efficiently any disagreement concerning the agreement. Independent panels will decide on the disputes. A pre-established list of experts will ensure that panels can start working quickly. Panel reports will be binding and can be enforced through suspension of concessions. All procedures and hearing will be fully transparent. Mediation is also possible, making the process even quicker.18. What needs to happen for the deal to start working?Here are the steps the EU still needs to take:
- Publish negotiated draft texts
- Legal revision and translation into all official EU languages
- Propose the agreement to the Council for the signature and conclusion
- Adoption by the Council
- Signing of the agreement between the EU and India
- European Parliament’s agreement to the deal
- The Council’s decision on concluding the deal
Once India also ratifies the Agreement, it can enter into force.
A United Airlines plane approaches the runway at Denver International Airport on March 23, 2026.
Al Drago | Getty Images
United Airlines flight attendants approved a new five-year labor contract with 31% average raises to base pay by August and other improvements, marking the last of the major carriers with unionized flight crews to reach a deal post-Covid.
The labor deal would give United’s roughly 30,000 flight attendants their first raises in close to six years. The company and the flight attendants’ union reached a preliminary deal in March. Crews had rejected a contract last year.
The union said the contract won 82% approval from the flight attendants, with close to 90% of them voting.
“The contract will immediately change the lives of United Flight Attendants, especially our thousands of new hires who have been hired since the pandemic,” said Ken Diaz, president of the United chapter of the Association of Flight Attendants.
The contract also includes boarding pay, or pay for when the aircraft’s door is open and travelers are getting on. Airlines had for years started flight attendants’ pay clock once the boarding door was closed.
The contract comes with a roughly 7% to 8% increase in compensation and $741 million in back pay, as well as quality-of-life improvements like restrictions on red-eye flights and “sit pay” during disruptions of more than 2½ hours.
Stocks struggled on Tuesday, although blue chips proved resilient, amid a triple whammy of domestic political strife, surging US inflation and a lack of progress in the Middle East.
The FTSE 100 closed down just 4.11 points at 10,265.32. The FTSE 250 ended down 341.66 points, 1.5%, at 22,466.20, and the AIM All-Share fell 11.75 points, 1.4%, at 810.66.
The pound fell to 1.3505 dollars on Tuesday afternoon from 1.3651 dollars on Monday. Against the euro, sterling was lower at 1.1517 euros from 1.1584 euros on Monday.
The yield on UK 10-year gilts traded at 5.10%, up from 5.01% the day before.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer defied calls for him to quit, despite a growing number of Labour MPs demanding that he steps aside.
“The Labour Party has a process for challenging a leader and that has not been triggered,” Sir Keir told ministers during crunch talks over his future, as no one person has stepped forward to challenge him yet.
“The country expects us to get on with governing. That is what I am doing and what we must do as a Cabinet,” he added.
More than 80 of Labour’s 403 MPs have now called for Sir Keir to quit immediately, or to set out a timetable for his resignation, including some ministers.
Banks sold off, amid reports of a possible windfall tax on the sector should there be a change at the top of the Government.
“Banks narrowly avoided a higher tax rate at the last budget, but our base case now assumes the UK banking surcharge to increase from 3% to 5%,” said the banking team at JPMorgan.
NatWest fell 3.2%, Lloyds Banking Group dipped 4.4% and Barclays declined 3.6%.
Meanwhile, the surging bond yields weighed on interest rate-sensitive housebuilders, with Barratt Redrow down 4.1% and Taylor Wimpey 2.4% lower.
Adding to the uncertain mood was another spike in the oil price as the impasse in the Middle East carried on.
Iran’s chief negotiator said on Tuesday that Washington must accept Tehran’s latest peace plan or face failure, after US President Donald Trump warned a truce was on the brink of collapse.
“Relations between Washington and Tehran appear to be more strained than at any time since the original ceasefire was announced just over a month ago,” observed David Morrison at Trade Nation, suggesting that hostilities could “resume at any time”.
Brent crude for July delivery was trading at 108.07 dollars a barrel on Tuesday, up compared with 103.70 dollars at the time of the equities close in London on Monday.
In Europe on Tuesday, the CAC 40 in Paris ended down 1.0%, and the DAX 40 in Frankfurt declined 1.6%.
In New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.5%, the S&P 500 fell 1.0% while the Nasdaq Composite was 1.7% lower.
The yield on the US 10-year Treasury widened to 4.46% on Tuesday from 4.39% on Friday. The yield on the US 30-year Treasury stretched to 5.02% from 4.97%.
The impact of the Iran war was reflected in soaring US inflation figures for April.
Annual CPI inflation sped up to 3.8% in April from 3.3% in March, above FXStreet-cited expectations of a 3.7% rise.
Monthly, energy costs were up 5.6% in April after a 21.3% jump in March.
Excluding food and energy costs, core CPI was up 2.8% year-on-year in April, up from 2.6% in March and higher than an expected 2.7%.
Analysts explained that much of the upside in core inflation came from a spike in shelter costs.
TD Economics said the numbers reinforce why the Fed needs to remain “patient”.
“Even assuming a ‘more normal’ reading on shelter prices last month, core inflation would’ve still firmed relative to March. With secondary price effects from higher energy prices likely to intensify in the months ahead, we’re likely to see core measures of inflation drift a bit higher and hover around 3% through year-end,” the broker said.
While Bank of America said the latest increase means inflation is getting “very uncomfortable” for the Fed.
Following the data, Fed futures now place a 60% probability of a rate hike by March next year.
The euro traded slightly lower against the greenback, at 1.1729 dollars on Tuesday from 1.1782 dollars on Monday. Against the yen, the dollar was trading at 157.73 yen, higher than 157.01 yen.
Back in London, Vodafone fell back 7.0% after mixed full-year results with adjusted earnings short of hopes but adjusted cash flow ahead.
“In the stock market it’s often said that it’s better to travel than arrive, hence why shares in Vodafone dipped on robust-looking full-year results after a strong rally in the past 12 months,” said Dan Coatsworth, head of markets at AJ Bell.
Vodafone shares have risen 60% in the last 12 months.
Intertek led the risers, up 6.4%, as it said it was “reviewing” the latest takeover proposal from suitor EQT Fund Management Sarl.
Intertek has turned down three previous approaches from EQT.
On the FTSE 250, Greggs rose 8.0% after reporting higher sales in the opening weeks of 2026 and maintaining full-year expectations.
But Wickes plunged 12% after reporting mixed trading as wet weather weighed on retail demand at the start of 2026.
Gold traded lower at 4,663.87 dollars an ounce on Tuesday, from 4,733.27 dollars on Monday.
The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 were Intertek, up 320.00p at 5,300.00p, British American Tobacco, up 255.00p at 4,634.00p, Compass Group, up 1.74p at 31.93p, Imperial Brands, up 104.00p at 2,832.00p and London Stock Exchange Group, up 328.00p at 9,348.00p.
The biggest fallers on the FTSE 100 were Vodafone Group, down 8.45p at 111.95p, 3i Group, down 116.00p at 2,400.00p, St James’s Place, down 52.50p at 1,154.50p, Lloyds Banking Group, down 4.28p at 94.06p and Marks & Spencer, down 13.60p at 308.90p.
Wednesday’s global economic calendar has eurozone industrial production and GDP data, the King’s Speech in the UK and US PPI figures.
Wednesday’s local corporate calendar has a trading statement from Spirax Group.
Contributed by Alliance News
Joni Lamb, the president of Daystar Television Network, a televangelism broadcaster she founded with her husband, Marcus Lamb, turning their family into stars of Christian entertainment, died on Thursday. She was 65.
In an announcement posted on Daystar’s website, the company described the cause as “serious health matters” exacerbated by a recent back injury. It did not say where she died.
On a trip to Jerusalem in 1983, shortly after the couple married, Mr. Lamb visited the Mount of Olives and felt God telling him to move to Montgomery, Ala., and start a Christian TV station. He and Ms. Lamb poured their energy and modest finances into the effort and began appearing on the air two years later.
By the time they founded Daystar — in Texas in 1997 — they were experienced entrepreneurs and performers. After just a few years, they owned 24 stations around the country. By 2010, they had become the second-largest Christian broadcaster, after Trinity Broadcasting Network, and were reaching more than 200 countries, The Dallas Morning News reported.
Compared with other televangelists, the Lambs “are younger and come across as more ordinary folks,” David Clark, the president of a rival Christian broadcaster, told The Fort Worth Star-Telegram in 2001. “They come across as being sincere.”
Mr. Clark added: “Marc is sharp, and his wife, Joni, is a big asset.”
The Lambs frequently appeared on their own network in a talk show format, discussing the pleasures and challenges of domestic life in a Christian idiom. Ms. Lamb, who liked to break into song, was Daystar’s leading talk show host, over the decades moderating shows like “Taking a Break With Joni” and “Joni Table Talk.” She would often be surrounded by other female regulars, putting questions to a male guest who had wisdom to impart.
The prominent pastor Jentezen Franklin visited earlier this year, for example, to discuss his new book, “The Power of Short Prayers.” The conversation slipped easily into evangelism.
“For someone watching right now: You’ve been listening; God’s opened your heart,” Ms. Lamb said. “In fact, your heart’s already been opened for some time, as you’ve been looking, searching, and you tried everything else. Always say, ‘Why don’t you try Jesus?’ A simple prayer: That will change your life for eternity.”
During the episode she was flanked, as she often was, by her two daughters, Rachel Lamb Brown and Rebecca Lamb Weiss, and referred to her husband by his first name, as if the viewers at home were family friends.
In 2021, Mr. Lamb died, at 64, of Covid-19, after having frequently suggested that people should pray instead of getting vaccinated. Ms. Lamb announced his death on air.
The travails of the Lamb family were often incorporated into the station’s programming. In 2010, Mr. Lamb admitted on live TV to an extramarital affair and described an attempt to extort millions of dollars in blackmail.
“Christian TV took a soap opera turn,” The Dallas Morning News wrote of the episode.
In 2020, Daystar returned a $3.9 million Paycheck Protection Program loan after the CBS program “Inside Edition” investigated the company’s purchase of a Gulfstream jet used by the Lamb family for beach and golf trips.
Four years later, a panel of Ms. Lamb’s talk show regulars questioned her on air about an accusation by her son, Jonathan, that there had been a coverup of a family member’s sexual molestation of his infant daughter. Ms. Lamb denied that any abuse had occurred, and after an investigation, no charges were filed.
Joni Lynn Trammell was born on July 19, 1960, in Greenville, S.C., where she grew up. Her father, Billy Frank Trammell, worked for a local refrigeration and heating company and would evangelize with friends he made playing basketball. Her mother, Sandra (Hudson) Trammell, competed in the Miss Greenville beauty pageant.
The Lambs met at a Greenville church in 1980, when Mr. Lamb, a traveling Pentecostal preacher, was visiting. They married in 1982.
Their early investments in TV stations came fortuitously, at a time of deregulation that The Star-Telegram would describe as “market bottom.” They later made money buying and selling small broadcast towers, and selling airtime to ministries and churches.
In 2023, Ms. Lamb married Doug Weiss, a sex therapist who became a co-host on Daystar. He survives her; other survivors include her three children and several grandchildren.
On air earlier this year, Ms. Lamb told viewers that the Christian faith guaranteed a posthumous reward.
“When you pray that prayer, and you receive Jesus, he forgives your sins,” she said. “When you die, you’re going to heaven.”
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