A debate has just begun in Pakistan, and already it is bearing fruit. It concerns the announcement of the EU-India trade deal, which has been in the making for nearly two decades, still needs formal signing, and hinges on the timely alignment of countless moving parts across 27 European Union countries and India.

It is difficult to miss the timing. The announcement was rushed by two estranged US partners, both of whom have publicly expressed frustration with Washington's current trade posture. India has endured punitive US tariffs, while the EU is wary of the Trump administration's trade wars and recent statements on Greenland. Both needed to signal to Washington that they have options.

Recent World Bank and Trading Economics data put the US nominal GDP at about 29.2 trillion dollars for 2024, the EU's at around 19.4 trillion dollars, and India's at roughly 3.9 trillion dollars. While this trade cannot replace the US market for either party, it could still serve as a meaningful addition to their economies.

But let us not jump the gun. What has been agreed so far is a political understanding, not an operational document. The legal text still has to be finalised and translated; national parliaments across Europe must approve it; and even provisional application will not deliver real gains until customs rules, standards and certification systems are in place. Trade deals are not press releases. They are regulatory ecosystems, and those ecosystems take time to build. Add to this the legendary obstructionism of the Indian bureaucracy, arguably more rigid and punitive than anything Pakistan produces, along with the narrow domestic policy space available to the Modi........

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