Union commerce and industries minister Piyush Goyal on September 10 said that the government is in talks with the US for a bilateral trade agreement.
A trade agreement with Oman is also likely to be reached soon, Goyal said at the FICCI Leads Summit, while adding that India and Qatar are set to finalise terms of reference for a free trade agreement (FTA) in the first week of October.
“In active dialogue with the US for a BTA. Trade agreement with Oman likely in weeks now. Besides, Qatar and India will finalise terms of reference for a trade deal in the first week of October,” he said.
The minister said India wants to work with countries where both parties can have “a win-win deal” and not a one-sided agreement.
“India wants to work with friendly countries, wants to engage actively with nations with whom we have aligned interests and where we can truly create partnerships that are enduring, sustainable and a win-win for both parties. No business deal can be one sided,” Goyal said.
Earlier today, US President Donald Trump had revealed that both the nations are continuing negotiations to address the trade concerns.
'Looking forward to speaking with you': Modi responds to Trump; US President reshares PM's post
"I look forward to speaking with my very good friend, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in the upcoming weeks. I feel certain that there will be no difficulty in coming to a successful conclusion for both of our Great Countries!" Trump said in a post on Truth Social.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi responded to the post, saying both India and the US are "natural partners" and the trade negotiations will help unlock limitless potential of the partnership between the two countries.
The remarks come following the imposition of 50 percent tariff on India for buying crude oil from Russia. India has, however, made it clear that it will continue buying Russian crude.
Following the imposition of secondary tariffs, PM Modi attended Shanghai Cooperation Organisation's Summit in China, marking his first visit to the neighbour in seven years. PM Modi held talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin, who was also present at the Summit.
The Modi-Xi-Putin meeting, however, irked the US President.
“I just don’t like what he (Modi) is doing at this particular moment,” Trump had said, but added there was “nothing to worry about” in the long term.
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