Piyush Goyal rejects report that India is holding out on US trade deal

Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal on Monday rejected a Reuters report that India declined a quick trade agreement with the United States during talks in June and is holding out for a better deal.

In a social media post, Goyal described the report, published on Monday, as “completely false, baseless and misleading”.

Referring to US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer’s June visit to Delhi, Goyal said that he had “fantastic meetings” with the official.

“Both sides reaffirmed their commitment to an agreement that is balanced, commercially meaningful, and delivers tangible benefits for businesses, farmers, workers and consumers in both countries,” Goyal said. “Our teams remain fully engaged in achieving this objective.”

The delay in signing the deal comes as the Narendra Modi government was drawing “confidence from new trading partners, easing economic risks and political gains at home”, Reuters had quoted unidentified officials and analysts as saying.

Reuters had also quoted an unidentified Indian government official as saying India and the US failed to finalise an interim trade agreement during Greer’s visit as Washington did not assure New Delhi on its key demands. The demands included a tariff advantage over competitors such as China and a commitment that the US will not impose fresh levies after the agreement.

“Our position is clear,” the news agency quoted the official...

Read more