India-US Trade Agreement: Piyush Goyal Shares New Update, But No New Dates Yet For 6Th Round Of Talks

(MENAFN- Live Mint) Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Tuesday that India is negotiating a bilateral trade agreement (BTA) with the United States. However, no new dates have been finalised yet for the sixth round of trade talks.

"We are in dialogue with the US for a BTA," Piyush Goyal said at an industry chamber event on sustainability in Delhi.

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India and the US have been negotiating the trade and tariff pact since March. So far, five rounds of talks have been completed.

After a 50 per cent duty was imposed on Indian goods from August 27, the US team has deferred its visit to India for the next round of talks, which was scheduled from August 25.

“As we continue to have newer trading arrangements with the European Union, Chili, Peru, New Zealand, the second tranch of Australia and Oman - all of these are FTAs....Lots have happened, lots more to go. But the US, we are in dialogue with them for a bilateral trade agreement...With all of this pan India's growing relevance as a provider of 18% of global growth...,” Piyush Goyal said.

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Piyush Goyal emphasised that competitiveness would only improve with a sustainable pathway as India continues to remain committed to its sustainability goals.

Speaking at the summit on the subject of sustainability , Goyal said,“It is unfortunate that certain important players, certain important countries, have chosen to forego the agenda of sustainability...India continues to remain committed to our sustainability goals. We believe our competitiveness will only get better with a sustainable pathway...”

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Piyush Goyal said on Tuesday that the India-China relations are gradually moving towards normalcy. His statement came days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping held bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit

During the meeting, PM Modi and Xi Jinping agreed to work towards a "fair, reasonable and mutually-acceptable" solution to the India-China border issue, and pledged to expand trade and investment ties, recognising the role of the two economies to stabilise global trade.

"This was an SCO summit, where all the SCO members participated. We had a problem in Galwan, due to which we had a blip in the relationship. As the border gets resolved, I think the situation getting back to normal is a very natural consequence," Goyal told reporters when asked if with India and China resetting their relationship, is there a scope for relaxations in PN3.

At present, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) applications from countries sharing land borders, such as China, have to mandatorily seek government approval for all sectors. This policy was issued in April 2020 as Press Note 3 (PN3).

(With inputs from agencies)

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