India ready to expand ties with US, says Goyal; moots 1TN trade over next decade at USISPF

Speaking at the 4th Annual Leadership Summit for India-US Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF), Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal conveyed his willingness to bolster bilateral trade ties between India and United States. As a part of a synergistic upheaval of trade relations, he proposed an ambitious target of $1 trillion mutual trade for both countries. The minister also expressed resentment over the "red tape" that popped during trade talks with former US President Donald Trump's administration.

Recalling bilateral trade discussions with Trump, Goyal said, "We had actually concluded the discussion, maybe three or four times but would always get stuck somewhere in the red tape and for a change, for which India was not responsible." "India and US can be two countries which should be looking at a balance mutual trade of trillion dollars in the next 10 years," Mr. Goyal said at the virtual summit on Wednesday. Reiterating the significance of India-US ties, the union minister added that the government is "happy to engage with the US and look for expanding the economic partnership."

"Unless we keep very ambitious targets, we will never get there. I am happy to look at a trillion-dollar target for the next 10 years between the US and India. I am happy to engage with the US and look for expanding our economic partnership," Union Minister Piyush Goyal said that the virtual USISPF summit.

According to the latest data obtained from the US Trade representative office, India-US bilateral trade in goods and services from 2019 stands at $146.1 billion. Underlining the efforts of the Indian government in upgrading bilateral trade ties, Goyal asserted "we were always forthcoming." He also pointed out how meetings with Washington and New York-based companies did not offer a fruitful return. "I made a sincere effort. Unfortunately did not work out," Goyal said.

"Five-fold" increase in trade volume

The current "ambitious target" follows the track laid out by Joe Biden when he was the Vice President of the ex-US President Barack Obama's administration. During his visit to India in 2012, Biden expressed his vision to make a "five-fold" expansion in India-US trade volume. The bilateral trade then stood at $100 billion.

Now, being a part of the QUAD nations, India sees hope in progressing the interim trade negotiations that were halted mid-way after Trump lost elections in 2020. The trade talks resumed during the bilateral meetings held between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Joe Biden in Washington on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA.)

With inputs from ANI

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