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The first tranche of the India-US bilateral trade agreement (BTA) will come into operation once the United States ensures that India gets a comparative advantage over competing countries in its neighbourhood and the ASEAN region, Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Wednesday.
"I have very categorically and on several occasions expressed the confidence that what we have finalised with the US as the first tranche of the bilateral trade agreement... will come into operation as soon as the United States is able to ensure that we get a comparative advantage over our competitors, the countries in our neighbourhood, the countries in the ASEAN region and other countries with whom we compete," Goyal said. He said this comparative advantage was the basis of the first tranche of the BTA and indicated that once it is re-established, the agreement would be ready to come into operation. Goyal's comments come amid discussions over the trade relationship between India and the US, including the ongoing US Section 301 process. "301 is a process that is being run by the USTR in the United States. We participated in that," he said. The minister said tariffs have been imposed under one investigation, while another probe remains under discussion. He added that India would continue to leverage the US market as long as Indian exporters have a comparative advantage or face comparable duties. "As long as we have comparative advantage or comparable duties, I think India will continue to grow its exports and continue to leverage the large US opportunity," Goyal said. When asked about reports linking potential tariffs to Russian oil, Goyal declined to comment, saying, "We don't speculate. We don't comment on speculation." Goyal also highlighted the broader momentum in India's trade negotiations, noting that the country's recently concluded FTAs are gradually coming into effect. The India-Oman agreement came into effect around two months ago, while the India-UK Free Trade Agreement became effective on July 15. The minister said the European Union FTA is close to completing its legal scrutiny and is expected to go before the European Parliament after its summer recess. India expects the pact to come into effect by the first quarter of next year. Goyal described the EU agreement as potentially "game-changing", as it would open opportunities across 27 countries with a combined GDP of around $20 trillion for Indian exports of goods, services and mobility. He said the expanding network of trade agreements would provide Indian exporters with significant opportunities as the country seeks to expand its global footprint and move towards its long-term goal of becoming a developed and prosperous economy by 2047. (ANI)
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