Adequate Safeguards for India in Trade Agreement with US: Goyal

The minister added that Indian goods will have a competitive advantage in the American market due to 18 per cent customs duty as rival countries like China face tariffs as high as 35 per cent while other countries are subject to over 19 per cent duty.

“This is a two-page document (India-US joint statement),” he told PTI Video in an interview.

Citing the free trade agreement with the European Union as an example, Goyal said that he went to the Cabinet with a large set of documents regarding the India-EU trade agreement.

“So there’s a lot of things that haven’t been introduced yet. And that cuts both ways. I’m sure that if we flood their market, the United States will want to be equally protected… That’s something that’s a normal outcome of any negotiation.”

“So, it’s a work in progress… Safeguards are always in place. So if someone is trying to emphasize that this isn’t in this two-page joint statement, that’s trying to mislead people and there’s still a lot of clarity needed,” he said.

He added that both India and the US have sensitivities regarding a particular group of products and both have measures in place towards them.

“We’ve safeguarded all of them,” he said, adding that India has not granted any duty concessions in dairy products. GM (genetically modified) crops, meat, poultry, soybean meal and corn.

But there are some pulses and lentils that India imports and “we have given them some access, market access,” he said.

“Ultimately, it has to be a give-and-take. So how am I going to open up the market to my farmers in the U.S. if I don’t give anything?” he said.

The minister said India has opened up its sectors in a very calibrated manner.

“Each of them is very balanced, very well thought out and will support India’s growth story and eventually support Indian farmers who want to export their products, especially processed products, to the rest of the world. So this is a calibrated opening,” he said.

On dry fruits, he said India imports dry tree nuts worth about three and a half billion dollars, out of which one billion dollars has already come from the USA.

“If it comes from the US, I don’t mind. It helps the consumers. By the way, among all the stakeholders, the biggest stakeholder is the customer, which is 1.4 billion Indians,” he said, adding, “If they (consumers) buy something cheaper, why not?” PTI RR VJ RR HONEY

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