Category: Regional blocks
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The Final EU–India FTA: A Historic Breakthrough and Its Deep Impact on India’s MSMEs
When India and the European Union formally announced the conclusion of their Free Trade Agreement at the 16th India-EU Summit in New Delhi, the moment marked the end of a negotiation marathon that began almost two decades ago. Now widely described as the “mother of all deals,” the pact connects…
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Global Growth Enters a Low-Gear Phase
The world economy is entering a distinctly different phase—neither overheating with inflationary pressure nor collapsing into recession. Instead, global growth is settling into a low-gear, below-trend trajectory that reflects structural adjustments across major economies. This new normal challenges the assumptions that shaped global policy, trade flows, and investment strategies over…
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The EU–India FTA: Why the “Mother of All Deals” Could Redraw Global Trade Geography
When Ursula von der Leyen called the upcoming EU–India Free Trade Agreement the “mother of all deals” at Davos, it was not diplomatic exaggeration. It was a recognition that this potential agreement—linking nearly two billion people and close to one-fourth of global GDP—could structurally shift the direction of global trade,…
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India–EU Free Trade Agreement: From Missed Opportunities to a Strategic Economic Reset
The India–European Union economic relationship has long been defined by potential rather than performance. Despite being natural partners—India as a fast-growing consumption and manufacturing base, and the EU as a technology, capital, and standards powerhouse—bilateral trade has remained modest relative to scale. The renewed push toward an India–EU Free Trade…
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EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism: A Turning Point for Global Steel and Chemicals
The European Union’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) represents one of the most consequential policy shifts in global trade architecture since the creation of the WTO. Historically, carbon pricing and emissions regulations remained domestic frameworks—shaping domestic industries but sparing international exporters. CBAM breaks that boundary. By putting a price on…
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Global Trade at a Crossroads: The Geopolitical Economics of Decoupling
The global trading system is entering a new phase—one defined not by efficiency and cost advantages but by security, resilience, and strategic autonomy. Over the past three decades, globalization was driven by the pursuit of low-cost manufacturing, scale efficiencies, and integrated supply chains. China became the world’s industrial backbone, supplying…
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Europe’s Semiconductor Shock: A Historic Warning and a Futuristic Call for Supply-Chain Rewiring
The deepening semiconductor shortage facing Europe’s automotive sector is more than a temporary industrial disturbance — it is a historic reminder of how fragile modern manufacturing systems remain, even after decades of globalisation, automation, and digital sophistication. As wafer shipments linked to the Nexperia–China conflict risk drying up by mid-December,…
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Europe’s Economic Engine Falters: Germany’s Malaise and Its Continental Ripple Effects
The Waning Powerhouse of Europe Germany — once hailed as the “engine of Europe” — is now facing an extended period of economic stagnation. The challenges are not new; they are cumulative results of structural weaknesses that have persisted over time. As Europe’s largest economy, Germany’s slowdown inevitably sends shockwaves…
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