Mother of all deals: Piyush Goyal on upcoming FTA with European Union
Goyal told members of the media: “We have made FTA agreements with seven developed countries so far. This will be the mother of them all. It will cover two of the strongest economies in the world. We have very good growth opportunities.”
European Council President Antonio Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will visit India for the 16th EU-India Summit scheduled to be held on January 27.
Both sides are expected to announce the outcome of trade talks that day.
“I can assure you that we will not compromise our country’s interests with the free trade agreement we signed with the EU,” Goyal said, adding that bilateral trade was reasonably balanced in goods and services.
He said that all sensitive issues like Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism and dairy products will be addressed to India’s satisfaction.
A day earlier, Commerce Minister Rajesh Agrawal had said India and the EU were “very close” to concluding talks on the proposed FTA and talks were on to resolve remaining issues so that the deal would be ready for announcement during the visit of senior EU leaders later this month. “Previous governments were very afraid of making FTAs with the developed world. We are going to the developed world with full confidence. We are ready to take bold decisions and therefore get the best deal from other countries.” said Goyal. On the strong support from EU member states, the minister said: “In the last few months, at different levels… all 27 EU countries have expressed their enthusiasm to finalize the India-EU agreement very quickly. Not a single one of the 27 countries is against the India-EU partnership.”
Without disclosing the figures, Goyal said that despite global economic uncertainties, India’s exports in the first two weeks of January were “extremely” positive.
