Speaking on the much anticipated US-India FTA, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said Friday that New Delhi will only sign trade agreements that are mutually beneficial and will not rush into any deal under external deadlines.He further stressed that India will accept the proposed trade deal with the US only when it is fully finalised, properly concluded, and aligned with the country’s interests."India never does any trade deal based on deadline or time frame. When the deal is done properly, and is completely finalised and is in the country's interest, then we will accept it," the union minister said. Goyal stressed that negotiations with the Donald Trump administration remain ongoing. “India is in discussions with various nations for trade deals,” he noted."National interest should always be supreme. Keeping that in mind, if a deal is made then India is always ready to deal with developed countries," Goyal added.He also noted that at present there are no plans for an Indian delegation to travel to Washington for further talks.Beyond the US, India is also negotiating FTAs with several partners, including the European Union, New Zealand, Oman, Chile, and Peru.Trump's July 9 countdownThe talks carry urgency as the suspension of the 26% reciprocal tariffs imposed by the US under President Trump is set to expire on July 9. India is seeking a full exemption from these additional duties while resisting pressure to open politically sensitive sectors such as dairy and farm products.The discussions, held between June 26 and July 2, are in the final phase, though some issues in the agriculture and auto sectors still need to be resolved.The two countries also aim to conclude the first tranche of the broader bilateral trade agreement by fall (September–October) this year, targeting an ambitious goal of doubling bilateral trade to $500 billion by 2030 from the current $191 billion. In the latest data, India’s merchandise exports to the US rose by 21.78% to $17.25 billion in April–May this fiscal year, while imports climbed 25.8% to $8.87 billion.Latest developments on talksMeanwhile, a senior Indian trade official confirmed to Reuters that the Indian negotiation team, led by chief negotiator Rajesh Agrawal, has returned from Washington after another round of talks on an interim trade pact. “Indian team is back from Washington. Negotiations will continue. There are certain issues which need to be resolved in agriculture and auto sectors,” the official said, adding that an announcement could come before July 9. The US side is pushing for duty concessions on a range of items, including industrial goods, automobiles—especially electric vehicles—wines, petrochemicals, apples, tree nuts, and genetically modified crops. India, in turn, is pressing for better market access and tariff cuts for labour-intensive sectors like textiles, gems and jewellery, leather, garments, plastics, chemicals, shrimp, oil seeds, grapes, and bananas. India has consistently refused to open its dairy sector in any free trade agreement signed so far.
- News Source Indiatimes (Click to view full news): CLICK HERE
0 Comments:
Leave a Reply