• Source:JND
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Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal on Sunday took a swipe at the United States over its decision to impose a fee of $100,000 on H-1 B visa applications, which are used mostly by Indian working professionals.

In a post on X, Goyal shared a video clip in which he was speaking about the growth and development in India. Lauding India's economic growth, he said, "Several countries want to do Free Trade Agreement with India."

He added, "They want to increase trade with India. They want to improve relations". In an apparent jab at the US, Goyal said, "They are also a little afraid of our talent. We have no objection to that either. Our talents should come here to design and innovate." Goyal added, "So we are winners, come what may." 

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He emphasized India's economic growth at 7.8 per cent in the first quarter, beating economists' expectations. He said, "The growth achieved was 7.8% in the first quarter. It beat all economists' expectations, and we will continue to beat them right up to 2047."

India and the United States are currrently negotiating a bilateral trade agreement for which Goyal is set to visit the nation on September 22. He will lead India's delegation which will include special secretary and chief negotiator Rajesh Agrawal. 

Speaking about the visit, the Commerce Ministery stated, "The delegation plans to take forward the discussions with a view to achieve early conclusion of a mutually beneficial trade agreement".

The visit comes after a US delegation led by chief negotiator Brendan Lynch visited India on Spewtmebr 16 and held the discussions with his Indian counterpart, Agrawal.

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Following the meeting, the commerce ministry stated that discussions with the American team were positive, with both sides agreeing to push for an early and mutually beneficial conclusion of the agreement.