India-US joint statement in days, tariff cuts in a week, says Piyush Goyal
On the $500 billion purchase commitment in the agreement, the Minister said the country would need large volumes of energy, data centre equipment, and ICT products.
Goyal said India will import at least $500 billion worth of energy, aircraft and chips from the United States over the next five years. (File Photo)
Stating that India and the US will formally sign the first tranche of their new trade agreement by mid-March, Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said Thursday that a joint statement on the deal will be released in the next four-five days after which US tariffs will come down to 18 per cent through a White House executive order.
“The first tranche of the bilateral trade agreement (BTA) is almost ready, and we expect that in the next four-five days, we will finalise and sign a joint statement between the US and India. And based on that, the first phase of this partnership will begin…there is no investment commitment in this pact,” Goyal told reporters.
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He said India is looking to come out with the joint statement as fast as possible, as there are further concessions that it will get after the legal agreement. On the $500 billion purchase commitment in the agreement, the Minister said the country would need large volumes of energy, data centre equipment, and ICT products.
“Our steel capacity is going to double from today’s 140 million tonnes to about 300 million tonnes in the next few years. And therefore, when we estimated what we will need from the US, we came to a figure of at least $500 billion. We can clearly see before our eyes the potential that we can procure from the US over the next five years,” Goyal said.
Pointing to India’s aircraft demand alone, he said that “orders placed on Boeing and yet to be placed but ready, are nearly $70-80 billion”. “If you add the engines and other spare parts, it will probably cost $100 billion,” Goyal said.
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Rajesh Agrawal, Commerce Secretary, said that “all US trade deals have had joint statements”. “The joint statement related to the India-US agreement will come into effect in four-five days. It can be early, too. Once the joint statement is there, it has to be converted into a legal agreement. We are targeting mid-March to sign the legal agreement. That will give us the authority to reduce tariffs on our side. Because their tariffs are executive tariffs. Our tariffs are Most-Favoured-Nation (MFN) tariffs,” he said.
Goyal said India will import at least $500 billion worth of energy, aircraft and chips from the United States over the next five years. (File Photo)
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