Trust Indian, not foreign voices: Goyal on BTA with US

NEW DELHI: Days after govt rejected US commerce secretary Howard Lutnick's claims, commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal Sunday said that stakeholders should have trust in India, instead of relying on statements from overseas. "Trade deal is not negotiated in media. Trust India, don't trust foreign statements. Have trust in your country, your motherland, India," he said at an event when asked about the state of play on the bilateral trade deal. Last week, Lutnick had claimed that the India-US trade deal, which has been in the works since last Feb, did not go through as PM Narendra Modi did not call US President Donald Trump, unlike leaders from some other countries which managed to get lower tariffs as against 50% slapped on India. The comment had drawn a strong rebuttal from the ministry of external affairs, which said that the comments on the "circumstances" were "not accurate", while reiterating that India was interested in a mutually beneficial bilateral trade deal. While five rounds of talks have been held and India has submitted a revised proposal, indicating its willingness to "significantly open up", while protecting its sensitive sectors such as agriculture, dairy and MSMEs, Washington has not agreed to the offer and there is a stalemate of sorts.

Periodically, Trump has raised the issue of Russian oil imports even as India has maintained that it will pursue policies and opt for purchases that are in the best interests of its consumers, while openly asserting its willingness for more energy purchases from the US.