London/New Delhi — India will not sign a trade agreement with the United States unless the terms provide Indian exporters with a clear competitive advantage over rival economies, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said Thursday.
Speaking during a two-day visit to London, Goyal said India would move forward with the agreement only after Washington establishes a legal and policy framework that gives Indian goods preferential access to the U.S. market.
“Until the framework for getting competitive advantage is finalised, we cannot enter into a US deal,” Goyal said, adding that negotiations are focused on how the United States can create the necessary legal basis to offer India such an advantage.
His comments came a day after he concluded trade negotiations in New Delhi with U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer.
Following the meeting, India’s Commerce Ministry said both countries remained committed to expanding bilateral trade and advancing negotiations on the proposed bilateral trade agreement. The ministry, however, did not announce a breakthrough on the remaining issues.
The latest discussions represented the third round of negotiations since India and the United States announced plans for an interim trade agreement earlier this year.
The initial negotiations took place when the United States had imposed steep tariffs on Indian goods under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.
Goyal said India negotiated the proposed agreement on the assumption that the effective tariff on Indian exports would fall from about 50 percent to 18 percent, giving Indian products an advantage over goods from competing economies.
“There were IEEPA tariffs when we finalised the deal. We had about 50 per cent tariff on India, so we had negotiated the deal based on bringing down the 50 per cent tariff to 18 per cent,” Goyal said.
He said the proposed tariff reduction would have made the agreement attractive by giving India a comparative advantage over neighboring countries and other competitors. (Source: IANS)
