“Bharat ke kisano ka, machhuvaaron ka, Bharat ke MSME sector ka, jub tak desh hiton ko puri tarah se hum sambhalen nai, tab tak koi settlement kiya nai jata (No settlement may be made till we care for the pursuits of India's farmers, fishermen and MSME sector),” he informed reporters right here.
He was replying to a query concerning the progress of talks between the 2 international locations on the proposed pact and by when it will likely be concluded.
“Talks are happening in a cordial environment,” he mentioned.
The remarks are essential because the US is looking for concessions in India's agriculture sector.
The Indian official group, headed by Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal, was in Washington this week to carry commerce talks with their US counterparts. In February this yr, leaders of India and the US directed officers to barter a proposed Bilateral Commerce Settlement (BTA). They've fastened a deadline to conclude the primary tranche of the pact by the autumn (October-November) of 2025. To date, 5 rounds of negotiations have been accomplished. Final month, Goyal led an official delegation to New York for commerce talks.
These deliberations are essential because the relations between the 2 international locations have been reeling underneath extreme stress after the Trump administration imposed a steep 50 % tariff on Indian items. It features a 25 % extra import responsibility for purchasing Russian crude oil.
India has described these duties as “unfair, unjustified and unreasonable”.
Nevertheless, the current telephone conversations between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump have raised hopes of a optimistic final result from the continuing negotiations for the commerce deal.
After a quick hole, Assistant US Commerce Consultant for South and Central Asia Brendan Lynch held talks with Indian officers in New Delhi on September 16. In that assembly, each side agreed to push for an early and mutually helpful conclusion of the settlement.
The proposed pact goals to greater than double the bilateral commerce to USD 500 billion by 2030 from the present USD 191 billion.
The US remained India's largest buying and selling accomplice for the fourth consecutive yr in 2024-25, with bilateral commerce valued at USD 131.84 billion (USD 86.5 billion exports).
It accounts for about 18 % of India's complete items exports, 6.22 % in imports, and 10.73 % within the nation's complete merchandise commerce.
India's merchandise exports to the US declined by 11.93 % to USD 5.46 billion in September because of the excessive tariffs imposed by Washington whereas imports elevated by 11.78 % to USD 3.98 billion throughout the month, in accordance with the commerce ministry information.
