NEW DELHI: With India and the US preparing to start negotiations for a bilateral trade agreement, commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal on Tuesday said the two countries can offer concessions and duty reductions, as their economies complement each other.
During the recent visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Washington, India and the US announced their commitment to more than double the two-way commerce to $500 billion by 2030 and negotiate the first tranche of a mutually beneficial, multi-sector bilateral trade agreement (BTA) by fall of 2025.
“We complement each other, we can give mutual concessions to each other, tariff reductions and make it easier to export and import between the two countries,” he said, adding, “We have started working on different ideas, engaging with different stakeholders within and outside the govt and preparing ourselves for discussions, (which) we hope we will start soon.”
He added the agreement will open opportunities for the domestic industry to expand trade with the US to $500 billion by 2030. “We look at this opportunity as a way to make India more competitive, come out with quality products, look at mutual concessions and attractive trading conditions which will support growth both in America and in India,” Goyal said at an NDTV Profit event.
On reciprocal tariffs, the minister said India’s tariffs are there to protect domestic industry from imports from non-market economies.
“What we are working on is for mutual benefit resolving these issues for both our countries… Our situation with the US is different from the situation of many other countries,” he said.
Further, he said that there should be no cause of concern to the domestic industry from the trade negotiations with the US, and India should enter these negotiations from a position of strength.
“I do not see any cause of concern…this is a golden opportunity for business and will open floodgates of new business opportunities. My sense is that those who are panicking today will regret tomorrow,” he said.
Earlier in the day at a CII event, Goyal said that India and the US are committed to increasing bilateral trade to $500 billion and negotiating a “strong” trade agreement within the next 6-8 months.
Goyal said once his US counterpart takes charge, both countries will discuss the contours of the pact. “…In the next 6-8 months, by establishing a strong trade agreement, we are committed to increasing trade to $500 billion,” he said on the sidelines of CII’s India-Qatar Business Forum meet.
When asked if the pact would have chapters related to goods, services and investments, he said, “My counterpart has not yet confirmed in the US…After the (confirmation), we will do talks and then only we can decide the way forward.”
