Piyush Goyal highlights ‘trust,’ relationships’, says no to US trade deals with ‘gun on head’

Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Friday that India will not sign any trade agreement “in a rush” as New Delhi sees trade agreements as an opportunity to build deeper trust and partnerships. He said India is exploring new markets and looking at “stronger demand momentum” within the country.

Speaking at the Berlin Global Dialogue on Friday, he said, “India never takes decisions in haste or under the pressure of the moment and we have acknowledged that we have tariffs on us, we are looking at how to overcome that. We are looking at newer markets. We are looking at a stronger demand momentum in the Indian economy.”

Referring to the bilateral trade agreement (BTA) between India and the USA, Piyush Goyal said that talks are ongoing but India is in no hurry to finalize the BTA under any pressure. “We are talking to the US, but we are not making deals in a hurry,” he said, adding that India does not make deals based on deadlines or “with a gun to our heads”.

Interacting with DoorDarshan earlier, Goyal emphasized that India and the US are in talks, the teams are working together and the Commerce Minister is meeting his US counterparts to progress negotiations towards a fair and equitable trade agreement. Speaking of the intention behind trade agreements, he added: “Trade agreements are longer term. Trade agreements are not just about tariffs; they are not just about access to goods or services; they are also about trust, they are also about relationships. It is an indication to businesses that you can work between two countries and you can trust businesses to thrive, businesses will be protected, businesses will get opportunities and you can trust a fair deal.”

Talking about the advantages of active workforce, Goyal said, “We have a demographic share, our average age is only 28 and you cannot find this in many parts of the world except Africa. Now this young person is connected to the internet and we have a billion internet users, he is very enthusiastic. This desire pushes him to work harder, pushes him to adopt new technologies, new languages, new countries. I think India also needs to be recognized. Although the economy seems to be only a 4 trillion dollar economy, “Purchasing power parity is currently at $15 trillion.”

India is also actively pursuing free trade agreements with the EU, New Zealand and other countries, although it has already signed agreements with the UAE, Australia and the UK.