For years, Pakistan and Bangladesh have enjoyed privileged access to the European market. The India-EU free trade agreement now threatens to upend this order. Nearly 93 percent of India’s exports will eventually enter Europe tariff-free, erasing the price advantages that smaller South Asian economies had counted on. Pakistan’s textile exports face direct competition, while Bangladesh’s garment sector faces a post-LDC future just as Indian manufacturers access zero tariff. Indian exporters, despite paying high tariffs in the past, have increased their trade with the EU by 90% in a decade. With the removal of customs duties, growth projections soar. Although ratification of the FTA may take time, its geopolitical signal is unmistakable: India is no longer a peripheral player in global trade and South Asia’s old trade hierarchies are being rewritten.
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