When European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen declared in New Delhi, “We did it, we delivered the mother of all deals,” her exuberance was more than diplomatic theater. It reflected a deeper geopolitical shift now underway. The finalization of the long-delayed India–European Union Free Trade Agreement (FTA), after nearly two decades of halting negotiations, is not merely an economic milestone. It is a strategic response by two major actors navigating a rapidly fragmenting global order shaped by American unpredictability.

That the agreement was sealed during India’s Republic Day celebrations-with von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa as chief guests-was symbolically potent. It underscored how trade, diplomacy, and strategic signaling are increasingly intertwined. The timing was no accident. Over the past year, both India and the EU have found themselves on the receiving end of a more hostile and transactional United States, prompting a reassessment of old assumptions and the pursuit of new partnerships.

For Europe, the deterioration of relations with Washington has been stark. The White House’s frequent threats of punitive tariffs, its increasingly open engagement with Russian President Vladimir Putin, and its pressure on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to accept what many Europeans see as a humiliating peace have shaken the foundations of the transatlantic alliance. Even more jarring were public musings about taking over Greenland-an extraordinary provocation that ended up unifying EU member states behind Denmark.

At the World Economic Forum in Davos, von der Leyen captured this unease by speaking of the need for “a new form of European independence,” pointedly emphasizing Europe’s preference for “fair trade over tariffs.” The India-EU FTA must be read in this context: as part of a broader European effort to diversify economic and strategic........

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