A day after it emerged atop the list of the Opposition’s ire against the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said on Wednesday that the India-US trade deal was “balanced and mutually beneficial” for both nations.
Speaking in the Lok Sabha amid vociferous protests from the Opposition benches, Goyal also sought to underscore that both sides had ensured that their respective interests in regard to the “sensitive sectors” of their economies had been safeguarded. He added that the complete contours of the deal would be announced as soon as the remaining technicalities were concluded.
“After Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s February 2025 visit to the United States, Bharat and America have been discussing a balanced and mutually beneficial bilateral deal. Keeping this in mind, interlocutors from both sides engaged in serious discussions at various levels over the last year,” Goyal said.
“Keeping the important and varying interests of both sides in mind, it is natural that both sides would want to reach the best possible outcome to protect significant and sensitive issues related to their respective economies. During these discussions, the Indian side has been successful in safeguarding interests related to sensitive sectors, especially agriculture and dairy,” he added.
Acknowledging that the American side too had similar sectors, which were sensitive from their point of view, Goyal said that bilateral discussions, held over the course of a year in multiple rounds, enabled both sides to successfully arrive at a trade deal related to several sectors.
On February 2, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump spoke over the phone about several matters of bilateral and international importance, following which Trump announced a reduction of export rates to India to 18 per cent.
“I want to stress that this is less than the tariffs imposed by America on several competing nations; it will increase India’s competitiveness in terms of its exports to the American market. This deal will benefit India’s exporters, especially those engaged in labour-intensive sectors…I want to repeat to this hallowed House that Bharat’s priority sensitivity in the fertiliser and agriculture sectors has been kept in mind,” Goyal said.
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“Additionally, this partnership will open new opportunities for small and medium enterprises, MSMEs, skilled workers…It will also be helpful in realising India’s vision of ‘Make in India for the world’, ‘design in India for the world’ and ‘innovate in India for the world’,” he added.
‘Structured deal with world’s largest economy’
Terming it historic, Goyal said the “structured deal” between the two is an important step in strengthening India-US relations and the journey towards Viksit Bharat 2047. It also, he added, reflected “the bond between two of the biggest democratic nations in the world”, who are natural partners working together for shared prosperity.
“I want to inform the honourable members that, in respect of further proceedings, both sides will work together to conclude the technical details and paperwork of the deal so that its benefits can be reaped to full capacity as soon as possible. The detailed contours of the deal will be announced immediately after these procedures are completed,” he said.
Referring to India’s energy needs, Goyal said, “I want to clarify: as the government has stated many times publicly, that safeguarding the energy needs of 140 crore Indians. Bringing about diversification in energy sources given the prevailing market conditions and changing international context is the foundation of our work ethic in this regard. All of Bharat’s actions are undertaken keeping this in mind; therefore, I urge the Members to view these issues from a comprehensive point of view,” he added.
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In the context of potential trade between both nations, Goyal sought to underline that “Bharat and America, to a large extent, are complementary economies to each other.” This has become more important as India “progresses down the path of Viksit Bharat”, requiring it to increase its capacity in sectors such as energy, aviation, data centres, and nuclear energy, he added.
“America is a global leader in these sectors; for us, focusing on business opportunities in these sectors is natural so as to expand not only our imports but also exports. We estimate that as a result of comparative gain, Bharat’s exports to America will increase in many sectors,” he said.
A “structured deal with the world’s largest economy”, Goyal added, will add “more speed to global development and innovation in the coming years” and was in the “all-encompassing interests of the people of Bharat and that of the nation”. “It strengthens both ‘Viksit Bharat’ and ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’; we will continue to work towards making the Prime Minister’s vision in this regard a reality,” Goyal said.
