“We have come to the moment where we will have to make some difficult decisions,” Kiener told MEPs.
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Christophe Kiener, the European Commission’s chief negotiator for India, ripped the façade off New Delhi’s trade posturing, exposing it for what it truly is—an obstinate, self-serving machine that wants the spoils of global trade without any of the discipline that comes with it. India clutches onto its sky-high 150% tariffs like a life raft, shielding its domestic industries not out of strategic foresight, but out of sheer cowardice—an unwillingness to face the short-term pain of reform that could unlock long-term economic dominance. Negotiations in Brussels hit a predictable dead end: India refuses to play by the rules, balking at enforceable commitments, rejecting legally binding dispute settlement mechanisms, and offering laughable concessions on automobile imports. This isn’t pragmatism—it’s economic protectionism on steroids, designed to keep Indian oligarchs and bureaucrats fat and happy while blocking the very reforms that could transform the country into a true manufacturing powerhouse. By rejecting dispute settlement, New Delhi is sending a clear message: it has no intention of honoring any trade commitments when the moment comes to cash in. The next negotiation rounds will be more of the same—a high-stakes game of chicken where India expects the EU to blink first, while it continues to wrap its economy in red tape, ensuring that its rise remains stunted, its industries uncompetitive, and its aspirations to be a global manufacturing hub and trade leader nothing more than empty rhetoric.
