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Piyush Goyal
Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal will hold a meeting with representatives of export promotion councils and industry associations on February 11 here amid finalisation of trade pacts with the US and the European Union, an official said on Monday. The meeting is important as India and the US have finalised a framework for signing the first phase of the bilateral trade agreement. Under this, the US has agreed to reduce the 25 per cent reciprocal tariffs on Indian goods to 18 per cent. It has already eliminated the punitive 25 per cent tariffs on India, which was imposed in August last year for purchasing Russian crude. Indian exporters were eagerly waiting for this deal as the US is the largest export destination for several labour-intensive sectors such as textiles, leather and footwear and gems and jewellery. The steep 50 per cent tariffs were hurting India's exports to America. The industry official said that all the export promotion councils have been invited for the .
The India of today is negotiating trade deals from a position of strength and confidence that it can offer a future market of USD 35 trillion, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Sunday. "That's what is our negotiating strength," Goyal told PTI Videos in an interview. His first after India-US reached an agreement on tariffs, seen as a first step toward finalising a bilateral trade agreement (BTA). Today, India negotiates from a position of strength, "I start by saying look we are 4 trillion dollar economy today, but it is going to be 30-35 trillion by 2047, when we are a developed economy," he said. "And that is the confidence that india has today, that delta of opportunity from 4 trillion to 30-35 trillion, that is the future we offer," he added.
US-based Boeing is a large buyer of aircraft parts from India and is looking at the country as its largest foreign original equipment manufacturer (OEM) base for components going forward, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Saturday. Under an interim trade agreement with India, the US has agreed to remove tariffs on certain aircraft and aircraft parts of India. "Already Boeing and Airbus are large buyers of aircraft parts from India...I am told both these companies are looking at India as the largest foreign OEM for parts going forward and I have had conversations with the top board and CEO of both companies. There is a lot of excitement about the India-US partnership," he told reporters here. Boeing has over 265 commercial and military aircraft operating in India, which is a key market for the plane maker. The company has more than 325 suppliers and the annual sourcing from the country is worth over USD 1.25 billion. The amount includes components and services. Ai
India and the six-nation bloc of Middle Eastern nations, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), on Thursday inked terms of reference on Thursday for starting talks for a Free Trade Agreement (FTA). The terms of reference (ToR) outline the scope and modalities of a proposed trade pact. Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal presided over the signing ceremony of the ToRs with GCC. GCC is a union of six countries in the Gulf region -- Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain. Goyal said that the agreement will help boost bilateral trade and investments between the two. He added that about 10 million Indians are living and working in the GCC region. India has already implemented a free trade pact with the UAE in May 2022. India and Oman also signed a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) in Muscat on December 18, 2025. Launch of FTA talks with the GCC would be a kind of resumption of the negotiations, as the earlier two rounds of negotiations were held
India and the US are expected to finalise and sign a joint statement on the first tranche of the bilateral trade agreement in 4-5 days, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Thursday. After the joint statement is signed, the US will come out with an executive order on reducing tariffs on India to 18 per cent. At present, Indian goods attract a 25 per cent reciprocal tariff and a 25 per cent additional tariff for buying Russian crude oil. Goyal told reporters that a legal agreement for the first tranche of the pact is expected to be signed by mid-March. The joint statement will be followed by an exhaustive legal agreement, he said. Goyal also said that there is no investment commitment in this pact. Once the statement is signed, it will be converted into a legal agreement and mid-March, "We are hopeful of signing that legal agreement," Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal said. The signing of the legal text will lead to a cut in tariffs by India on certain US goods.