In just a few days in early 2026, India signed two major trade agreements — the India-European Union (EU) Free Trade Agreement, and a deal with the United States that lowered American tariffs on Indian goods. The EU deal was called the “mother of all deals”. The U.S. agreement was seen as a strategic reset. Both are real achievements.But these deals also reveal a deeper problem: the system that allowed countries such as India to trade freely is breaking down. What you can buy and sell increasingly depends on politics, not just economics. No country can make everything it needs....