India and the European Union on Friday agreed to conclude a free trade deal by the end of the year, their first commitment to a deadline on talks that have been going for years, as they look to soften the effect of tariff increases from the United States.

India and the European Union have agreed to finalize a long-pending free trade agreement this year and boost cooperation in trade, technology, connectivity and defense, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the European Commission chief said Friday.

In an unprecedented move, India and the European Union (EU) have set a deadline to finish the talks for having the decades-old proposed trade pact by the end of this year.