- India will choose its trade partners based on national interest, not external pressure, Goyal said
- India is also negotiating a free trade agreement (FTA) with the European Union
- Trade deals will be largely dependent on India’s import of Russian crude
India’s Commerce and Trade Minister Piyush Goyal stated that India will not rush into signing any trade deal, emphasizing that the country will choose its trade partners based on national interest, not external pressure.
Speaking at the Berlin Dialogue in Germany, Goyal said India views trade agreements as long-term partnerships built on mutual trust.
“We are in active dialogue with the EU. We are talking to the US, but we don’t do deals in a hurry or with deadlines hanging over us,” he said.
This comes after he had earlier said that a trade agreement between India and the United States is expected to materialize in the “near future,” with Goyal expressing optimism about finalizing a “fair and equitable” framework.
“We are in dialogue with the United States of America. Our teams are engaged. We recently had the Commerce Secretary visit the US, and he met with his counterparts. We continue to engage with them and talks are progressing. We hope to work towards a fair and equitable agreement in the near future,” Goyal had said on Thursday.
The discussions centre around a proposed bilateral trade agreement aimed at more than doubling the current bilateral trade to around $500 billion by 2030. India and the US have completed five rounds of talks since February.
FTA With EU
India is also negotiating a free trade agreement (FTA) with the European Union, focusing on key issues such as market access, environmental standards, and rules of origin.
These talks come amid growing international pressure from the EU, the UK, and the US for India to reduce its imports of Russian oil, which they claim indirectly supports Moscow’s war in Ukraine.
While India has reiterated its stance on energy imports based on national interests, recent developments, including sanctions against Russia’s Rosneft and Lukoil, indicate that India is set to reduce its Russian oil imports. Reports suggest that Indian refiners, including Reliance Industries, plan to cut oil imports from Russia sharply.
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