India to work with US to 'take off' Trump's reciprocal tariffs: Piyush Goyal

Commerce minister Piyush Goyal on Wednesday said that India will work with the United States to secure exemptions from President Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariffs.

“India did not need to have (reciprocal) tariffs on them because we were already doing a bilateral trade deal with them. But I think the US has not differentiated between any country. But we are in constant engagement and I think we will be working with them to take off these additional tariffs in the days to come,” Goyal said at News18’s Rising Bharat Summit.

While Trump has announced a reciprocal tariff of 26 percent on Indian goods, New Delhi is looking to negotiate under section 4C of the executive order that allows room for exemptions on reciprocal tariffs.

Section 4C of the executive order says, “Should any trading partner take significant steps to remedy non-reciprocal trade arrangements and align sufficiently with the United States on economic and national security matters, I may further modify the HTSUS to decrease or limit in scope the duties imposed under this order.”

Speaking about the reciprocal tariffs imposed by US on India, Goyal said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has deftly managed the entire situation with US President Donald Trum.

"We have seen how Prime Minister Narendra Modi has deftly managed the entire situation. He was cognizant of the impending possibilities ... he was first off the block in building back his old friendship and relationship with President Trump. They both jointly declared that US and India are trusted partners and we will work towards a Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) by fall of 2025 to ensure our relationship, friendship and ongoing partnership not only in trade, but also in geopolitics and defence," " Goyal said during an interaction at the News18 Rising Bharat Summit in New Delhi.

India and US share a strategic relationship "and I think it has only gotten reinforced since President Trump has come in," Goyal added.

Trump's move to levy steeper tariffs on India is part of his larger so-called reciprocal duties on his countries trading partners. These duties kicks in from April 9.

India and the US are currently discussing the contours of a mutually-beneficial trade deal, which is part of a new goal – "Mission 500” – aiming to more than double bilateral trade in goods and services to $500 billion by 2030, as agreed during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to America on February 13.

Goyal added that India has been upfront in the queue compared to other countries because it started early with the two sides declaring talks for a trade deal back in February.

"I think our strategy is clear, we are engaged with the US, incidentally we are right upfront in the queue because we started early, PM Modi had the foresight to recognize the crisis and as seen in history every crisis has been converted into an opportunity by India," he added.

The minister asserted that India will navigate the tariff storm similar to how it effectively tackled the Covid situation.

Goyal noted that the crux of the ongoing tariff tussle is US's focus to secure "fair trade" and is not targeted towards India.

Goyal expressed confidence that Trump's move to impose sweeping tariffs on countries opens up opportunities for India, adding that a majority of sectoral stakeholders and exporters in the country agree with the view.

During the interaction, the commerce minister also attributed the significant increase in India’s trade deficit with China to policies implemented during the Congress-led UPA government from 2004 to 2014.

He noted that the deficit grew from $2 billion to $40 billion during that period.

Speaking about India's ongoing trade discussions with various countries, Goyal said that all such talks are being held keeping the nation's interest in mind.

"For us it is India first. Our goal to make India a developed nation by 2047 is paramount in our mind when we engage with any country be it US, UK, New Zealand and others. We are doing bilateral deals with many developed countries...and every trade deal has to be a win-win, there is a lot of give and take that happens. But can assure that the final outcome will be in India's interest," he said.

India is currently engaged in Free Trade Agreement (FTA) discussions with seven countries and blocs simultaneously, including the European Union, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Oman, Peru and Chile.