India-US Bilateral Trade Deal News: Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Friday that the government is engaged in bilateral discussions with countries including the United States. “Free trade is possible only when both sides are set to benefit from an agreement,” he said, adding that it should be “a win-win agreement”.
Stating that national interest will “always be supreme” for India, Goyal said: “India is always ready to reach agreement with developed nations as long as its interests are protected.”
Emphasising that India negotiates on its own terms, the minister said that the government will only agree to a fully prepared deal that benefits the nation.
It will be “only when India’s interests are safeguarded and keeping that in mind, if a good deal is formed, India is always ready to engage with developed countries”, he said.
Here are edited excerpts of what the trade minister said:
- Discussions are on with several countries
- India is engaged in talks with the European Union (EU), New Zealand, Oman, the US, Chile and Peru
- India talks on its own terms
- In talks, India is highlighting its interests
- India won’t agree until it sees a mutually beneficial situation
- We don’t negotiate on deadlines
- India does not enter trade deals based on daedline or time pressure
- A deal is accepted only when it is fully matured, well-negotiated
- Any deal should be in national interest
US-India trade deal announcement unlikely in two days: Sources
Meanwhile, government sources said that a US trade deal announcement is unlikely in the next two days.
According to official sources, the government is keen to cover labour intensive sectors under a potential US trade deal. A deal is set to cover only goods trade, without any pact on social security, they said.
“Every tranche of the US deal may cover only agreed-upon sectors… All options are on the table,” said one of the sources.
“The US side is not sure of what it wants from the trade deal. It may not allow tariff exemptions on the steel sector… There are no talks on H-1B visas,” according to sources.
Indian delegation back home as Donald Trump’s July 9 trade deadline looms
The development comes at a time when an Indian delegation has returned from Washington after engaging in week-long discussions on an interim trade pact with the American side.
A deal is likely to be finalised before July 9, a deadline set by US President Donald Trump that marks the end of a 90-day pause on steep American tariffs on a number of countries including India.
On April 2, the US imposed an additional 26 per cent reciprocal tariff on Indian goods before suspending it for 90 days. However, a 10 per cent baseline duty remains in place.
India is seeking full exemption from the additional 26 per cent tariff. According to the sources, certain issues are yet to be resolved in spaces like agriculture and automobiles.
Meanwhile, India has flagged a more than 25 per cent levy in the auto sector in the Safeguards panel of the World Trade Organisation (WTO).
25% duty on auto imports into the US
In late March, the Trump administration imposed a tariff hike of 25 per cent ad valorem on imports of passenger vehicles and light trucks as well as certain components from India. The action on auto parts took effect indefinitely on May 3.
The US imports about auto parts worth $89 billion in a year, with the lion’s share of consignments from Mexico ($36 billion) and China ($10.1 billion). Its imports from India stood at about $2.2 billion last year.
India’s overall merchandise exports to the US rose 21.8 per cent to $17.3 billion, while imports grew 25.8 per cent to $8.87 billion in April-May.
