India looking to US to diversify oil, coal supplies, says Piyush Goyal

Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal

• US may help India diversify oil and coking coal supplies
• Interim trade deal expected to boost aviation and exports
• Goyal expects increased US capital inflow after trade agreements

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The United States can help India diversify its crude oil and coking coal supplies, commerce minister Piyush Goyal said on February 18, adding the country would benefit from reducing its dependence on a few countries and the price fluctuations that result from it.

The US can provide technology, capital, and certain goods which that India desperately needs, the minister said.

“We need GPUs, we need equipment for data centres and high-quality quantum computing. We want to diversify oil sources. We want to diversify coking coal, I am dependent on two to three geographies, prices keep fluctuating and increasing crazily, I would love to have high-quality coking coal from America,” Goyal said.

He was speaking about the benefits of the proposed interim deal between the two sides at the Global Economic Cooperation Summit in Mumbai.

The United States removed the additional 25 percent tariff it imposed on India earlier this month, citing New Delhi’s intent to halt imports of Russian oil and increase sourcing from the US.

Reciprocal tariffs on Indian goods are expected to drop to 18 percent this week, while the interim trade deal is likely to be signed around March after which further concessions will kick in.

Given that aviation is expected to be a major part of the deal, Goyal pointed to India’s rapidly expanding air travel market.

“We are paying top dollar for aviation and half the airports don’t have enough planes to fly,” he said, estimating a $100 billion demand from the US over the next five years in this sector alone.

Goyal said the trade deal could support aircraft purchases while opening the US market further for India’s labour-intensive exports.

No concession in any trade agreement was made without the approval from the relevant ministries and private-sector stakeholders.

“Eight agreements are out in the public domain up to the European Union. Have you heard a single complaint from any stakeholders?” he asked. “You won’t find one.”

After concluding agreements with the European Union and the US, Goyal said he expects a “flood of capital” into India, returns that are unmatched anywhere else in the world.

Addressing concerns on the rout in IT stocks over artificial intelligence-led disruptions, Goyal dismissed fears as “quite ridiculous,” arguing that Indian technology companies would be central to the expansion of AI.

“These are the companies that will be required for AI to flourish,” he said. His viewed echoed those of his IT counterpart Ashwini Vaishnaw who told Monyecontrol that India’s IT services firm were will equipped to take on the AI challenge.