- India awaits preferential terms from US for BTA.
- Piyush Goyal emphasized huge export opportunities from deal.
- Trade deal delay due to administrative procedures, not disagreements.
Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Thursday clarified India's approach to the much-awaited Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) with the US, saying that the details of the deal would be announced after Washington offers preferential terms compared to New Delhi's competitors.
Speaking at a workshop on free trade agreements, 'Leveraging FTA Outreach Programme', Goyal said, "As soon as the US can give us the preferential rate in comparison to our competition, we will finalise the BTA and announce the final details."
He also emphasised the benefits of the proposed deal, stating that it would offer huge export opportunities to the domestic businesses.
Current status of the trade deal with US?
The trade agreement with the US has been under negotiation for a long time, with the primary objective of increasing market access, reducing trade barriers, and further strengthening economic ties between the two countries.
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The two countries released the joint statement and framework for the deal on February 7. Months later, in July, a senior US official said that the draft of the BTA was almost ready and it could be signed within the next three to four months.
The US official also stated that the agreement between the two countries is ready on paper and that the delay is not due to any mutual disagreements, but merely administrative procedures.
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Other trade pacts in pipeline
Meanwhile, Piyush Goyal also shed light on the other upcoming trade agreements. He said, "India will conclude more trade pacts in the coming months or years with Canada, Mexico, Chile, Mercosur – a Brazil-led group of countries – the SACU (Southern African Customs Union ), a South Africa-led group of countries, the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council), comprising six nations in the Middle East, and Israel".