India-US Trade Deal Will Be a Win-Win: Piyush Goyal
The minister also announced that India will soon launch a dedicated scheme to promote domestic toy manufacturing
New Delhi:Union Commerce minister Piyush Goyal on Friday said that India-US trade deal will be a "win-win" for the country. He also said that India will not sign any trade deal with the US based on a timeline, while asserting that New Delhi negotiates agreements on its own terms. "India never negotiates trade deals based on deadlines. Our focus is always on fairness and the country’s benefit," the minister said.
Goyal’s comments came amid reports that India is likely to finalise the trade deal with the US before July 9, which marks the end of the 90-day suspension period of US President Donald Trump’s tariffs imposed on dozens of countries, including India.
The minister further said that ongoing negotiations are underway with the EU, New Zealand, Oman, Chile, and others. "Our focus is always on fairness and the country’s benefit. When the deal is made while safeguarding India's interests, keeping in mind that national interest will always remain paramount, then India is always ready to make deals with developed countries. Hence, a free trade agreement with the US should be a win-win", he said, when asked whether the India-US trade deal will be concluded well before the July 9 deadline.
The minister also announced that India will soon launch a dedicated scheme to promote domestic toy manufacturing. "Incentives under the scheme will be linked to production and employment generation. However, India remains open to fair trade deals with the developed world but ruled out any immediate plans to visit Washington DC, citing the upcoming Parliament session," he said.
Both India and the US 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.
