No trade deal under time pressure; national interest supreme: Goyal on pact with US

India does not enter into any trade agreement based on deadlines and will accept the proposed trade deal with the US only when it is fully finalised, properly concluded and in the national interest, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said on Friday.

He also said that India is negotiating free trade agreements (FTAs) with different countries, including the European Union, New Zealand, Oman, the US, Chile, and Peru.

FTAs are possible only when both sides get benefitted and it should be a win-win agreement, he told reporters when asked about the proposed interim trade agreement with the US.

''National interest should always be supreme. Keeping that in mind, if a deal is made then India is always ready to deal with developed countries,'' Goyal said.

When asked if an interim trade agreement between the two countries is possible by July 9, he said, ''India never does any trade deal based on deadline or time frame. When the deal is done properly, and is completely finalised and is in the country's interest, then we will accept it''.

July 9 marks the end of the 90-day suspension period of the US President Donald Trump-announced tariffs imposed on dozens of countries, including India. An additional import duty of 26 per cent was announced on Indian goods entering the US.

He added that at present, there is no plan to visit Washington for the trade talks.

Meanwhile, an official said that the Indian team has returned from Washington after holding talks with the US on an interim trade pact but discussions will continue as certain issues in the agri and auto sectors still need to be resolved.

However, the official said that there is a likelihood of announcement of the deal before July 9.

The Indian team is led by chief negotiator Rajesh Agrawal. He is Special Secretary in the Department of Commerce.

India has raised issues over 25 per cent duty in the auto sector and 50 per cent duty on steel and aluminium goods.

New Delhi has informed the WTO that it has reserved the right to impose retaliatory duties on select US products in response to American tariffs on steel and aluminium.

On March 26, 2025, the US adopted a measure in the form of a tariff increase of 25 per cent ad valorem on imports of passenger vehicles and light trucks, and on certain automobile parts originating in or from India, a communication sent by India to WTO said.

The measure on automobile parts applies from May 3, 2025, and for an unlimited duration.

The US imported USD 89 billion worth of auto parts globally last year, with Mexico accounting for USD 36 billion, China for USD 10.1 billion, and India for just USD 2.2 billion.

In the agriculture sector, the US is seeking duty concessions on products like dairy items, apples, tree nuts, and genetically modified crops.

However, being a politically sensitive sector, it will be difficult and challenging for India to provide any concessions in the agri sector.

India has not opened up the dairy sector for any of its trading partners in free trade pacts the country has signed so far.

New Delhi has hardened its position on giving duty concessions to American farm and dairy products.

The Indian team was in Washington for negotiations on an interim trade agreement with the US from June 26 to July 2.

These talks are important as the suspension of Trump's reciprocal tariffs is ending on July 9. The two sides are looking at finalising the talks before that.

On April 2, the US imposed an additional 26 per cent reciprocal tariff on Indian goods but suspended it for 90 days. However, the 10 per cent baseline tariff imposed by America remains in place. India is seeking full exemption from the additional 26 per cent tariff.

While the talks for an interim trade agreement is on, the US President has said that America will start sending letters to its trading partners on imposing unilateral tariff rates. The letters would be going out to those countries with which the US has not been able to reach any kind of agreement.

The US also wants duty concessions on certain industrial goods, and automobiles, especially electric vehicles, wines, and petrochemical products.

On the other hand, India is seeking duty concessions for labour-intensive sectors like textiles, gems and jewellery, leather goods, garments, plastics, chemicals, shrimp, oil seeds, grapes, and bananas in the proposed trade pact.

''India also wants a sustained preference over competing countries in our areas of interest in labour-intensive areas of textiles and leather under the agreement,'' the official added.

The two countries are also looking to conclude talks for the first tranche of the proposed bilateral trade agreement (BTA) by fall (September-October) this year. The pact is aimed at more than doubling bilateral trade to USD 500 billion by 2030 from the current USD 191 billion.

Before the first tranche, the efforts are on for an interim trade pact.

The US team was here last month for the talks.

India's merchandise exports to the US rose by 21.78 per cent to USD 17.25 billion in April-May this fiscal, while imports rose by 25.8 per cent to USD 8.87 billion.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)