Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal says India will finalise the BTA once the US offers preferential terms compared with the country’s competitors.
Highlights
- India-US Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) awaits preferential terms from Washington.
- Piyush Goyal said the deal will be finalised once the US offers India a preferential rate compared with its competition.
- Final details of the BTA will be announced after the preferential rate is offered
- India plans more trade pacts with Canada, Mexico, Chile, Mercosur and SACU.
Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Thursday said the details of the Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) with the US will be announced once Washington offers preferential terms compared with the country’s competitors.
“As soon as the US is able to give us the preferential rate in comparison to our competition, we will finalise the BTA and announce the final details,” Goyal said at a workshop on free trade agreements.
He said the free trade agreements finalised by India offer huge export opportunities for domestic businesses.
India will conclude more trade pacts in the coming months or years with Canada, Mexico and Chile, Goyal said.
The country also plans trade agreements with Mercosur, a Brazil-led group of countries, and the Southern African Customs Union (SACU), a South Africa-led group of countries.
Goyal added that India will also pursue trade agreements with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), comprising six nations in the Middle East, and Israel.
