“Confident” Of India-US Trade Deal, Says Piyush Goyal Amid Tariff Deadline
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“Confident” Of India-US Trade Deal, Says Piyush Goyal Amid Tariff Deadline
Indian Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal says he’s “always confident” about a deal with the US. The two countries have been locked in negotiations for an interim trade agreement for months. India has been pushing for exemptions from Trump’s sectoral tariffs, mainly for pharmaceuticals and automobile components. Mr Goyal was in the UK with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday to sign a free trade agreement with that country that eliminates tariffs on a range of products including cars and alcohol.
“I’m always confident,” Mr Goyal said in an interview Thursday with Bloomberg TV in London, when asked how he was feeling about the prospects for a pact.
“I’ve had some wonderful engagement with my friend and colleague from the US,” he said, calling US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer “very dear friends.”
Mr Goyal insisted there weren’t any sticking points in the US-India relationship or in current trade talks, and clarified that immigration rules – including those around H-1B visas for skilled workers – had not come up in this year’s talks.
Still, the two countries have been locked in negotiations for an interim trade agreement for months already, having made a commitment to reach a bilateral deal by the fall of this year.
Both sides have signaled an agreement is close. New Delhi has recently toughened its stance in negotiations, while President Donald Trump has threatened to hit countries like India and China with secondary sanctions for buying oil from Russia.
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Negotiators remain stuck on a few key issues, including US demands for greater access to India’s agricultural and dairy sectors. India has been pushing for exemptions from Trump’s sectoral tariffs, mainly for pharmaceuticals and automobile components.
Mr Goyal was in the UK with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday to sign a free trade agreement with that country that eliminates tariffs on a range of products including cars and alcohol, a major milestone for the Asian nation.
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“We have very robust negotiations going on with several countries,” including with the US, EU, New Zealand, Peru, and Chile, Mr Goyal said Thursday.
India is one of the largest economies locked in negotiations ahead of a US-imposed Aug. 1 deadline, when Trump’s latest threatened tariffs are set to take effect. This week, the White House has announced agreements with the Philippines and Japan, and more details on an agreement previously announced with Indonesia.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)