'India In Dialogue With US For Bilateral Trade Agreement': Piyush Goyal Amid Trump Penal Tariffs

New Delhi: Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal on Tuesday said that India is in a dialogue with the US for a bilateral trade agreement. 

This comes amid tensions between US and India following Trump's imposition of 50 percent additional tariffs on India for buying Russian oil.

Speaking at the 20th Global Sustainability Summit, he said, "India will continue to have more and more relations with countries around the world, and strengthen our friendships with all countries... As we continue to have newer trade arrangements, with the European Union, Chile, Peru, New Zealand, second tranche with Australia, Oman,...We have already completed Mauritius, Australia's first tranche, the four nation EFTA bloc, UK, UAE, a lot has happened. There's lots more to go."

"With US, we are in dialogue with them for a bilateral trade agreement. With all of this and India's growing relevance, as a provider of 18 percent of global growth...as the world's third largest economy in the next two years,...as a nation which believes in that old adage that Mahatma Gandhi had also said, 'We do not inherit the Earth from our ancestors, we borrow it for our children'. With this collective commitment and mindset, with the effort of 1.4 billion people, meeting the aspirations of a young India,...I am very confident that India's future is safe, secure, resilient and rests on the pillar of sustainability, high quality, cost competitiveness," he added.

The Minister of Commerce and Industry said that the ultimate goal of the government is to ensure that growth reaches even the people who are at the last row in the social strata.

"To be able to engage with the whole world with confidence and at the same time ensure that inclusive growth or growth which reaches the last man at the bottom of the pyramid will be our ultimate and final target," he said.

'India-EU Free Trade Agreement Talks in Advanced Stage': Piyush Goyal

Piyush Goyal also said that Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations between India and the European Union are in an advanced stage, as the two sides are making significant progress.

Speaking to the reporters in the national capital, Goyal said, "We have reached a very advanced stage in our FTA with the European Union. The Commerce Secretary, as we speak, is in a meeting in Brussels with his counterpart, the DG of the EU. Their team is coming down later this week and will be in active negotiation with us. Minister trade commissioner Maros Sefcovic (European Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security) is coming down on the 12th of this month and we are making very active and significant progress."

The FTA negotiations between the two sides are expected to conclude in 2025. India last month said the two sides engaged in a forward-looking and substantive dialogue to address global trade challenges and reaffirm their shared resolve to conclude the India-European Union Free Trade Agreement (FTA) by the end of 2025.

The India-EU FTA negotiations represent a significant step in strengthening economic ties between India and one of the world's largest trading blocs. The agreement aims to reduce trade barriers, enhance market access, and create new opportunities for businesses on both sides.

India's bilateral trade in goods with the EU was USD 137.41 billion in 2023-24, making it the largest trading partner of India for goods. In addition, the bilateral trade in services, in 2023, between India and the EU was estimated at USD 51.45 billion.

Talking about the FTA with India and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), the Minister said that the concerned parties will start negotiating over it, as the Terms of Reference (ToR) have been finalised.

"In terms of the Eurasian FTA, we are finalising the terms of reference. Now we'll set up the next step and dates and start discussing," he said.

India and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU,) comprising Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic and the Russian Federation, signed the Terms of Reference (ToR) to launch negotiations on a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) on August 20 in Moscow.

During the meeting in Moscow, both sides noted the growing trade turnover between India and the EAEU, which stood at USD 69 billion in 2024, registering a 7 per cent increase over 2023. 

Also Read: Bizarre! Pakistan Defence Minister Khawaja Asif Calls Floodwater 'A Blessing', Faces Backlash