I ndia and the European Union are on the cusp of a free trade agreement that could become one of the defining pivots of India’s economic rise. After years of cautious diplomacy, the negotiations have reached a point where a deal could reshape global supply chains, anchor India in Europe’s trade architecture, and offer Indian industry a stable, rules-based alternative to an increasingly unpredictable global trading system.

On Wednesday, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said the “air is pregnant with possibilities” and that both sides are committed to closing the deal early, after meetings with a high-level EU delegation that included Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic.

For Europe, trade has always been the foundation of prosperity. Nearly 30 million EU jobs depend on trade, a

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