US a 'very strategic partner’ for India, huge trade oportunities ahead, says Piyush Goyal at Rising Bharat Summit

Union minister Piyush Goyal was speaking at the Rising Bharat Summit.

Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal on Friday said the USA is a "very strategic partner for India".

Speaking at the Rising Bharat Summit, Goyal said that India and the USA has a "multi-faceted partnership". "India has become member of Pax Silica. We will need ICT equipment. There are huge opportunities in textile, in gems and jewellery," he said.

Goyal said India is committed to securing the best possible deal with the United States, while ensuring that the interests of MSMEs, fishermen and farmers remain protected.

The minister also called  the India- US trade deal "an evolving situation".  "We are in dialogue with the US administration. We have to wait and watch and ensure India’s interests are protected. India remains committed to engaging for the best possible interests," he said.

According to Goyal, trade deal is more about competitive advantage. "At 50% tariff we were at huge disadvantage. Trade deal would have opened doors for labour-oriented sectors for leather, textile, diamonds, pharma, smartphones," he said.

On February 20, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a landmark 6-3 ruling in Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump, striking down the primary legal foundation for President Trump’s sweeping second-term tariff agenda.

Explaining the government’s rationale, Goyal said, “When 140 crore Indians are backing you, when you want to make sure that the journey towards Viksit Bharat provides opportunities to the men and women…No country has become a developed nation without trade, partnerships, alliances…PM Narendra Modi was very clear from 2014…He systematically set our house in order, got rid of corruption scams from UPA era, strengthened macroeconomic fundamentals…"

He also said India became a voice of the global south.  "We started to build bridges with developed nations…PM Modi’s strategy was to engage from a position of strength, engage keeping in mind our strategic interests, sensitivities, strengths, while opening doors to the world. That helped in our effort to quickly build a robust, win-win situation with our trading partners. We provide lakhs and crores, our farmers, MSMEs, youth a bright future," he said.