NEW DELHI: Commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal on Sunday said that the announcement of a trade deal with the US has provided a lot of confidence to businesses on both sides and the agreement can help strengthen economic ties by leveraging the competitive strengths of the two countries.
“The Prime Minister has brought back with him an agreement or an understanding to enter into a trade deal by Fall of this year. It gives a lot of confidence and a lot of relief to every business person in the US and in India who believe that together, we can truly transform world trade, together with our competitive strengths in different areas, we can truly work as two friends, as two partners for progress and prosperity,” Goyal said at the ET Now Global Business Summit.
Last week, PM Modi and US president Donald Trump agreed to a trade deal while also seeking to target bilateral trade to $500 billion by 2030. During Trump’s first term as US president, the two countries had discussed a mini-trade deal, but the plan was shelved by the Joe Biden administration.
The decision to engage in negotiations comes amid Trump’s announcement of reciprocal tariffs against countries which impose higher customs duty on American goods than what the US levies. Trump has attacked India and said that govt maintains very high tariffs on imports.
India will seek to push for lower import duties on some of its labour-intensive products such as textiles and leather, while allowing more import of American oil, gas and defence equipment to bridge the trade deficit.
Goyal said that India is expanding and forging new partnerships across the world through trade agreements with the developed world, including with Australia, UAE, and the European Free Trade Association bloc (comprising Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland).
“The progress we are making in other engagements with Europe, and the progress we will soon make with the US as we proceed to finalize a trade deal by fall of this year, are all reflective of India’s growing relevance at the global stage,” he said.
Further, he said that the government is taking a series of steps to boost domestic manufacturing. “The Make in India story is now going to be led by a National Manufacturing mission, which will come up with newer ideas and address the challenges that manufacturing in India faces (by) MSMEs or otherwise, and ensure that making in India becomes more competitive,” the minister added. In 2023, the US and India bilateral trade in goods and services was estimated at $190 billion ($124 billion goods and $66 billion services trade).