India will have a “strong comparative advantage” in the trade deal being negotiated with the United States, Union commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal said on Friday, adding that no farmers’ interests would be compromised in the agreement.
Goyal said that the people of India would “celebrate” once details of the deal are released. The Union commerce minister stressed that India was “focused on protecting” sensitive sectors and getting a comparative advantage in trade agreements in order to export more.
A country’s comparative advantage refers to its ability to a good or service at a lower opportunity cost than another producer.
Addressing the 4th 4th ISID-IDRA National Conference on India’s Industrial Transformation, Goyal said, “I have the courage and conviction to announce that the US trade deal, once details are out, the people of India will celebrate that not a single sensitive interest of our farmers or any stakeholder has been compromised. On the contrary, India will stand at a very strong comparative advantage.”
The Union commerce and industry minister said that India, through its trade deals, was not just looking at market access. He said investments and services were also an important part of negotiations.
‘US FTA politicised by few elements’
Goyal also made a veiled reference to the Opposition’s criticism of the free trade agreement being negotiated with the US, saying the deal was “sometimes politicised by a few elements.”
“The US FTA is sometimes sought to be politicised by a few elements. I don’t even know whether they deserve any comment because that’s probably lack of knowledge, Details are not yet fully out. I don’t know what they are criticising,” Goyal said.
The Union minister said he had yet to come across “a single criticism” or flaw in the eight FTAs already negotiated by the Centre. “I dare say, none of the FTAS finalised by the Modi government had found a single criticism or any flaw. I have yet to come across anybody who could find a singe flaw in any of the 8 FTA concluded,” Goyal added.
Where do trade negotiations stand currently?
The India-US trade agreement is in its “last mile”, external affairs minister S Jaishankar said last week while speaking about efforts by the two countries to find common ground on the deal they have negotiated for more than a year. However, Jaishankar added that “it’s never done till it’s done”, while adding that the “last mile” often poses challenges.
He said the negotiating teams were working through these, while refusing to elaborate further.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who came to India this month for three-day official visit, and Union commerce and industry minister Goyal have also spoken about the progress in negotiations.
