Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo Applauded In Mumbai For Veiled Tariff Critique

Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever took an apparent swipe at US President Donald Trump over what he described as "arbitrary" tariff decisions and shifting trade policies, stressing the need for open markets and stronger economic partnerships during his ongoing visit to India. Speaking at the India-Belgium High-Level Dialogue on the India-EU Free Trade Agreement in Mumbai, part of his three-day official visit to India on Friday, De Wever cautioned against growing calls for protectionism, warning that some countries were increasingly advocating for closed markets and tariff barriers.

"More and more voices today are calling for barriers to go up, for markets to be shut off, for tariffs to be imposed. Some do this entirely arbitrarily. They decide something on Monday, they revoke it on Wednesday, and they reinstall it on Saturday," De Wever told the gathering, in remarks widely interpreted as a pointed reference to the unpredictable nature of the Trump administration's tariff policy over the past year. As applause broke out among those in attendance, the Belgian leader responded with a witty aside, telling the audience, "Your applause tells me you know who I am talking about," further underscoring the widely understood target of his remarks even though he stopped short of naming Trump directly.

De Wever went on to reflect on the broader state of global geopolitics, describing the current international climate as one marked by considerable uncertainty. "We live in a chaotic world, and if you hear many world leaders, you feel afraid, disturbed, and threatened. But if PM Modi speaks, you think we should do what he says. He's a wise leader," he said, offering praise for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in contrast to what he characterised as instability elsewhere in global leadership.

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De Wever, who took office as Belgian Prime Minister in February 2025, is making his first visit to India since assuming the role. He is accompanied on the trip by Belgium's Minister of Defence and Foreign Trade, Theo Francken, along with a broader delegation of government officials and business leaders. The high-level dialogue in Mumbai, which also included Indian Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, focused primarily on deepening cooperation between India and Belgium in areas such as ports, logistics, maritime connectivity, and broader trade relations.

Beyond his remarks on tariffs, De Wever used the platform to highlight the significance of the India-EU Free Trade Agreement concluded earlier this year, describing it in expansive terms as a major step toward strengthening economic resilience and reducing vulnerability to external disruption and coercion. "In January we concluded one of the most far-reaching free trade agreements in the world, the mother of all deals, a market of 2 billion consumers, a quarter of the world economy," he said, framing the agreement as a signal of deepening trust and economic integration between India and the European Union.

According to India's Ministry of External Affairs, the Mumbai event was intended to spotlight the growing partnership between India and Belgium, particularly in maritime and logistics cooperation, while also reinforcing broader ties between India and Europe more generally. Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who also addressed the gathering, argued that the India-EU free trade agreement had the potential to fundamentally reshape economic relations between the two regions, suggesting its long-term significance would extend well beyond the immediate scope of the deal itself. The visit is expected to further strengthen bilateral engagement between India and Belgium as both countries look to expand trade and economic cooperation in the months ahead.

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