India to gain comparative advantage in trade deal with US: Piyush Goyal | Today’s news
India’s Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said that under the proposed trade agreement with the United States, India would gain a comparative advantage over other countries and preferential access to the US market.
This development takes on significance amid growing uncertainty in global trade following the ongoing wars in West Asia and Ukraine.
Speaking at a press briefing late Monday evening (India time), Goyal said, “And also in the US, we will get a comparative advantage from other countries. We will get preferential access. So now the story has started.”
Goyal said earlier on Monday that India and the United States have concluded most of the negotiations and are fine-tuning the proposed trade deal.
Efforts for a limited trade deal between India and the US first began in 2018, during President Donald Trump’s first term, but were put on hold during the Biden administration. Talks resumed last year after Trump returned to office.
Goyal added that trade agreements concluded and those under negotiation would give India preferential access to $85 trillion of the $115 trillion global GDP.
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Other business offers
Responding to a query from the Mint, Goyal said the proposed Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Chile is at an advanced stage of conclusion, while Mexico wants to secure an early harvest agreement.
He added that significant progress had been made on the proposed Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) with Canada. Discussions with Mercosur (Mercado Común del Sur, or Southern Common Market) could also be accelerated now that Brazil’s elections are over.
Goyal said countries including Ecuador and several in Africa want to sign free trade agreements with India. India conducts eight trade talks.
“Egypt has invited us to potentially discuss how we can work more,” Goyal said, adding: “We have just started negotiations on SACU (South African Customs Union). So it may take some time.”
He said negotiations with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), which would add four more Gulf countries and Israel, may take longer due to the crisis in West Asia.
“The GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council), which would add four more Gulf countries and Israel. These negotiations, for obvious reasons due to the crisis in West Asia, may take some time. Although we are ready to speed up the negotiations.”
These proposed trade deals come against a backdrop of impacts on global supply chains and a global slowdown.
“The Eurasian Free Trade Agreement is only about goods. It does not cover services. So we are still assessing the merits of having this agreement,” Goyal said, adding that while many other countries were talking to India and wanted a free trade agreement, “but we also don’t have more bandwidth at this point.”
Construction expertise
Responding to Mint’s query on building institutional capacity and sectoral expertise for trade negotiations, Goyal said the government has been working to ensure that the lessons learned from the negotiations are retained and used in future deals.
“Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been very focused on this aspect. So that our negotiations and all the learning and efforts that are going on do not become a one-off thing. And so in the last three years or so, we have prepared proper manuals that are guidelines as standard operating practices, SOPs, to negotiate FTAs in an orderly and organized manner. Every FTA that we enter into, we prepare and prepare a lot of documents to help future officials because we think, that people will help themselves with them in the future. Indians are basically smarter.”
“Indian negotiators, Indian officers and our missions around the world are doing a smart and efficient job of being able to handle so many different engagements at the same time,” Goyal said.
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Trade with China
Goyal added that he hopes India will become a major exporter of goods and services to China and the ASEAN region.
“I had meetings with my counterpart in Yaoundé (Cameroon), also in Delhi when he came for the BRICS summit. And we are open to work and promote free and fair trade with every country around the world. We are also trying to open markets in different countries on a reciprocal basis for our goods and services,” Goyal said.
He also pointed out the importance of intermediate products and raw materials coming from China.
“They (China) also provide us with important intermediates, important raw materials. If we find that fair play or pricing is not right for any particular product, then there is an established legal process. Besides, we believe in fair play rules, we believe in open trade rules. And markets are open all over the world. We welcome suppliers all over the world to meet India’s growing needs,” Goyal.
India’s bilateral trade with China was $151.09 billion in 2025-26, including imports from China of $131.62 billion and a trade deficit of $112.14 billion, according to data from the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
Ramita Mishra contributed to this story.
The writer is in The Hague as a guest of the Confederation of Indian Industry.
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