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Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal on Friday rejected reports suggesting that India is planning to hold off trade deal with the United States for several months.
Speaking at the NXT Summit 2026 in New Delhi, the Union minister said, "There is some absolutely baseless report circulating from today morning... which you should trash. There is absolutely no basis in it at all. We have a very good trade agreement with the United States of America." Piyush Goyal reassured that the deal is a win-win deal for both India and the United States saying, "We have been able to protect all our sensitive sectors like Agriculture. India's interests have been safeguarded like no GM products, no rice, no corn, no maize, no soya bean and no dairy or poultry either. It is a very powerful agreement, it is great for both India and America as every trade deal should be." The Commerce Minister also highlighted how India would gain from the deal in the long run. "The deal also helps us get the best of technologies from America so that we can become the data centre of the world and can have large investments post the successful AI Summit", he said. Earlier, Commerce Ministry officials said India and the United States remain engaged for a mutually beneficial trade agreement, and there is no holdup in bilateral engagement. The United States and India last month announced that they have reached a framework for an Interim Agreement regarding reciprocal and mutually beneficial trade. The framework reaffirmed the countries' commitment to the broader US-India Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) negotiations, launched by President Donald J. Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on February 13, 2025, which will include additional market access commitments and support more resilient supply chains. A joint statement said that the Interim Agreement between the United States and India will represent a historic milestone "in our countries' partnership, demonstrating a common commitment to reciprocal and balanced trade based on mutual interests and concrete outcomes". Meanwhile, in a fresh development, the Donald Trump administration has initiated fresh investigations into alleged "unfair trade practice" by 16 major trading partners, including India, China, and Bangladesh. The move aims to reinstate tariff pressure following a US Supreme Court ruling last month that declared previous levies illegal. (ANI)
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