India may retaliate if ASEAN doesn't address trade concerns, says Piyush Goyal

On the domestic front, Piyush Goyal also announced that India's long-awaited e-commerce policy is in its final stages.

India may have to take retaliatory measure if ASEAN fails to address the country’s long-standing concerns over non-tariff barriers as part of the ongoing review of Free Trade Agreement (FTA), which ends in 2025, commerce minister Piyush Goyal has told the Business Standard in an interview.

"If ASEAN countries give us a fair deal in terms of the review that will help us right-size the huge trade deficit. If they don't, we will have to look at the non-tariff barriers imposed on us and I will have to consider retaliatory measures," Goyal was quoted as saying by the Business Standard.

The minister cited unfair market access for Indian exporters and a growing trade deficit with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, which has ballooned to $38.5 billion in FY24, as he pushed for address the matter urgently.

Goyal conveyed India's concerns at the ASEAN-India Economic Ministers' Meeting. He said one ASEAN country had imposed quotas on the number of Indian automobiles allowed for export. If ASEAN wouldn’t address these non-trade barriers, Indian would be forced to retaliate.

The FTA, which came into effect in 2010, has been criticised by India for not adequately addressing the trade imbalance, with imports from ASEAN nations growing faster than India's exports to the region.

US visit

Goyal is on a five-day visit to the United States, where he will meet with US secretary of commerce Gina Raimondo and trade representative Katherine Tai. The meetings, set to continue until October 4, will focus on strengthening cooperation in the semiconductor and electronics sectors, promoting investment in manufacturing, and exploring collaborations in emerging technologies and critical minerals.