India-US trade agreement: Any deal has to be a win-win for both parties, says Piyush Goyal

Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal

Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal on Wednesday said that negotiations for a trade agreement only works when there is merit in a deal and leads to a "win-win" situation for both parties involved.

Goyal chose to not specifically mention the nature of the talks with the Americans while responding to a question on the timeline for a mini trade deal between India and US.

"Every negotiation stands on its own legs, every negotiation can only work when there is merit in a deal, it has to be a win-win for both parties, just like in business…until both get a fair, equitable and balanced transaction, no deal can ever be successful," the minister said during a session of the India Global Forum in London.

Commerce secretary Sunil Barthwal on June 16 had said that India is hopeful of concluding an early tranche of the proposed Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) with the United States before July 9, when President Donald Trump's reciprocal tariffs kick in.

India and the US are holding talks to seal a scaled-down version of the BTA before Trump’s country-specific reciprocal tariff of 16 percent on New Delhi is levied.

The countries held another round of in-person talks between June 5 and June 10 in New Delhi.

Moneycontrol had earlier reported that negotiations with the US have turned complex as differences emerged over concessions for American farm and food products.

Goyal added that India is working towards striking trade deals with many countries.

"I am currently in nine negotiations including with blocs and countries...All my talks with the nine trading partners are going very well," he said.

Apart from the US, India is looking to close an early harvest trade deal with the European Union by July, as well as is in talks with New Zealand Peru and Chile for bilateral agreements.