Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal clarified how India would proceed in the ongoing trade negotiations with the United States. He firmly stated that India would not be pressured into signing a trade deal with the US. The minister made these remarks while speaking at the Berlin Global Dialogue. Goyal is currently on an official visit to Berlin, Germany from October 23, aimed at deepening India’s economic engagement with the country.
Goyal asserts India’s stand amid US trade negotiations
While addressing the dialogue, Goyal stressed that India is open to discussions but not to deadlines. He spoke about the ongoing bilateral trade negotiations with the Washington, stating that India doesn’t enter any deal with a gun to its head. “We are talking to the United States, of course, but we don’t do deals in a hurry, and we don’t do deals with deadlines or with a gun on our head,” the minister said.
Furthermore, when the moderator remarked that trade negotiations today often revolve around deadlines and tariffs, Goyal countered by emphasising that India’s approach is driven by long-term vision and not momentary pressure.
“India looks long term, India never takes decisions in a rush or on the pressure of the moment. And we have accepted if there’s a tariff on us, there is a tariff on us. We are looking how to overcome that, we are looking at newer markets, we are looking at a stronger demand impetus within the Indian economy. So we have a very resilient structure,” Goyal added.
Goyal on Germany Visit
Goyal on Friday held a series of meetings with top business leaders in Germany to strengthen trade and business cooperation between the two countries. In a post on X, Goyal informed that he met the CEO of Schaeffler AG, Klaus Rosenfeld and the two discussed ways to deepen collaborations across the automotive, artificial intelligence, and advanced manufacturing sectors.
Meanwhile, ANI quoting a Government official, stated that India and the US are close to finalising a bilateral trade deal, with both sides converging on most issues; talks are progressing well on the agreement, and no new issues are hindering negotiations. The official added that the negotiators of both countries are sorting out the language of the agreement and not many differences are left for resolution now.
