Trade and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Tuesday that he is ready to sign an initial trade agreement with the United States, which he said was in an “almost ready” state, “tomorrow,” but left it up to US negotiators to decide to keep in view of your local political situation, the next elections.
“I’m open to signing tomorrow, which we’ve agreed to, and I left Bob the final call,” Goyal said, referring to Robert Lighthizer, the US trade representative.
India and the United States have come close to closing an initial trade deal, which the minister has also described as “fundamental” as a stepping stone to a larger and more ambitious Free Trade Agreement. It addresses key pressing issues, such as restoring India’s special business benefits in the US in exchange for increased access by US companies to India’s dairy and medical device sectors.
The minister said the two sides could have “ideally” signed the agreement during President Donald Trump’s visit to India in February, but for some “semicolons that needed to be finalized.”
“In fact, we have resolved most of the problems related to this initial trade agreement,” Goyal said at a session of the annual summit of the United States-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF), a trade body of companies from both countries. .
As negotiators grapple with the pending wrinkles, the two countries, like the rest of the world, devoted all their attention and resources to addressing the Covid-19 epidemic. “We lost valuable time during that period,” the minister said of the severe lockdown of the first weeks in India.
The two sides are now ready to wrap up, the minister said, referring to a recent conversation with Lighthizer. The complete package is “almost ready and can be finalized anytime the local political situation in the United States allows,” he added.
The United States is really in electoral mode now. President Trump, seeking a second term, is facing Joe Biden, the former vice president and Democratic presidential candidate. Also on the ballot for November 3, Election Day, are the entire House of Representatives, one-third of the United States Senate, and many state offices.
“We, on the part of India, believe that it has to be beneficial for both countries,” Goyal said of the deal under discussion. The “initial agreement architecture” that has been created is in the best interest of companies in India and the US And it is in the interest of both countries “to deepen our strategic partnership with this initial business agreement.”
“It will open the doors to initiate a dialogue on a broader bilateral engagement,” he added.
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