NEW DELHI: India is close to signing a long-coveted trade deal with the European Union this month, trade secretary Rajesh Agrawal said on Thursday, in what would be the South Asian nation’s largest pact yet as it chases new markets amid U.S. tariff pressure. Agrawal said the two sides were “very close” to finalizing the agreement and were exploring whether it could be wrapped up before leaders from both sides meet in New Delhi this month. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said this month that top EU leaders would travel to India to seal the deal if negotiations wrapped up in time. Top EU leaders are due to attend India’s Republic Day celebrations on January 26, followed by an India–EU Summit on January 27. The deal will open up India’s vast and guarded markets with more than 1.4 billion consumers to European goods and potentially reshape global trade flows as protectionism rises and a U.S.-India trade deal remains stalled. Germany’s Merz floats possibility of EU-India trade deal by end of January Both sides have been pushing to close a broad trade deal after European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Prime Minister Narendra Modi agreed to fast-track negotiations in an effort to close a deal in 2025. Talks, relaunched in 2022, gained pace after U.S. President Donald Trump imposed tariff hikes on trading partners including India. Talks on an India-U.S. trade pact collapsed last year after a breakdown in communication between the two governments. Brussels signed deals with Mexico and Indonesia and stepped up talks with India, while New Delhi sealed agreements with the United Kingdom, Oman and New Zealand.