Negotiating from strength: Goyal on trade deal with US
With the Congress criticising the BJP-led NDA government over the proposed trade deal with the US, Union Minister Piyush Goyal on Saturday said India “negotiates from a position of strength and doesn’t operate under external deadlines”.
He also accused the Congress of having “negotiated and signed agreements that were not in the national interests” during the UPA government’s tenure.
The remarks came after Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi targeted PM Narendra Modi over the Indo-US trade deal, alleging that the PM would “meekly bow” to the tariff deadline set by the Trump administration.
“India doesn’t negotiate under deadlines. We negotiate keeping national interest in mind and national interests are paramount in all our engagements across the world,” Goyal, the Commerce and Industry Minister, said in Bengaluru.
“After the Modi government came to power, we have signed free trade agreements with Mauritius, the UAE, Australia and the four-nation EFTA (European Free Trade Association) grouping — Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein —and now with the UK last month.” He said India continued to engage with other developed nations, including the EU bloc of 27 countries, the US, Oman, Peru and Chile.
“Today, India negotiates from a position of strength. We are self-confident and can compete with anybody in the world. This is not the weak India under the Congress and the UPA, which signed agreements that were not in the national interests,” Goyal asserted.
Earlier, he had clarified that India would accept the proposed trade deal with the US “only if it is fully finalised and aligns with national interests”.
Rahul, however, took to X to dismiss Goyal’s stance, stating, “Piyush Goyal can beat his chest all he wants, mark my words, Modi will meekly bow to the Trump tariff deadline”. The Congress has also been critical of the PM for not countering US President Donald Trump’s claims about mediating between India and Pakistan during Operation Sindoor.
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