Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal
Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has indicated that India will not finalise the bilateral trade agreement (BTA) with the US until Washington agrees to offer preferential tariff rates compared to India’s competitors.“As soon as the US is able to give us the preferential rate in comparison to our competition, we will finalise the BTA and announce the final details,” he said at a workshop on free trade agreements on Thursday.The Minister’s insistence on securing a distinct tariff edge over competing export economies such as Vietnam, Thailand and Bangladesh follows confirmation by US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor that Goyal will travel to the US for the G20 Trade Ministers’ meeting to continue high-level trade discussions next month. Negotiations over the first phase of the proposed bilateral trade agreement — initially outlined earlier this year — have slowed due to shifting American trade policy owing to court rulings and newly introduced tariff measures and investigations.Goyal noted that the FTAs finalised by India with its partner countries offer huge export opportunities for domestic businesses.India will conclude more trade pacts in the coming months or years with Canada, Mexico, Chile, Mercosur (Brazil-led group of countries), SACU (Southern African Customs Union ), South Africa-led group of countries and the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) comprising six nations in the Middle East and Israel, he added.“All of these, combined with our efforts to review ASEAN, Korea and Japan or take other steps to get greater market access, will actually give us access to 75 percent of global trade at a rate lower than competitors,” the Minister said.Published on September 3, 2026
