India and the European Union are set to formally announce their long-pending free trade agreement, described by EU leaders as the ‘mother of all trade deals.’
BY PC Bureau
January 27, 2026: The United States has warned that Europe is effectively financing the Russia-Ukraine war against itself by entering into what has been described as the “mother of all trade deals” with India.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that while European countries have significantly reduced direct energy ties with Moscow, they continue to indirectly fund the war by purchasing Russian oil products refined in India. His remarks come even as Washington has imposed tariffs on New Delhi over its continued imports of Russian crude.
Bessent’s comments followed the conclusion of negotiations on the long-pending India–European Union Free Trade Agreement (FTA), which is set to be formally announced on Tuesday.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent:
The US has made much bigger sacrifices than the Europeans have.
We have put 25% tariffs on India for buying Russian oil. Guess what happened last week? The Europeans signed a trade deal with India.
The Russian oil goes into India, the… pic.twitter.com/bzwchWKDuP
— Clash Report (@clashreport) January 26, 2026
What the US Said
Framing the issue as an imbalance in sacrifice among Western allies, Bessent argued that the United States has borne a greater economic cost in its efforts to disrupt Russia’s energy trade, while Europe has benefited from loopholes in global oil markets.
“We have put 25 per cent tariffs on India for buying Russian oil. Guess what happened last week? The Europeans signed a trade deal with India,” Bessent told ABC News on Sunday.
“Russian oil goes into India, the refined products come out, and the Europeans buy the refined products. They are financing the war against themselves,” he said.
The Trump administration has imposed tariffs of up to 50 per cent on Indian exports, including a 25 per cent levy linked to India’s purchases of Russian oil. Bessent added that President Donald Trump is working toward a negotiated settlement of the Russia-Ukraine conflict and claimed that Washington has made “much bigger sacrifices” than its European partners.
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India–EU Trade Deal
India and the European Union are expected to formally announce the finalisation of their free trade agreement later today, aimed at strengthening economic ties amid disruptions caused by US tariff policies. Negotiations for the pact began in 2007.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, currently on an official visit to India and the chief guest at India’s 77th Republic Day celebrations in New Delhi, has described the agreement as the “mother of all trade deals.”
