Union commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal said on Friday that India will not sign any trade agreement in haste or will reject conditions from partner countries that restrict its trading choices, amid ongoing trade talks with major partners, including the United States.
Union minister of commerce and industry Piyush Goyal. (@PiyushGoyal X)
Speaking at the Berlin Global Dialogue during an official visit, Piyush Goyal underscored that trade deals are not merely about tariffs or market access, but about building trust, long-term relationships, and creating sustainable frameworks for global business cooperation.
India is negotiating a long-pending free trade agreement with the European Union, with differences remaining over market access, environmental standards and rules of origin.
Trade talks with the United States, which has imposed 50 per cent tariffs on Indian exports, and several other countries are also underway.
Goyal said New Delhi would take a measured approach.
“India will not sign any trade deal in a hurry,” Goyal said, referring to European concerns over India’s continued purchases of Russian oil.
“In a very short-term context, it’s not about what is going to happen in the next six months. It’s not just about being able to sell steel to America,” Goyal said, hinting at the ongoing trade dialogue with Washington.
He stressed that India’s approach to trade negotiations is driven by a long-term vision, not by pressure to meet immediate trade targets. “Trade deals are for a longer duration. It’s not only about tariffs, it’s also about trust and a relationship. Trade deals are also about businesses,” he said.
The EU, the United Kingdom and the United States are pressuring India to scale back imports of discounted Russian crude, which the Western nations argue helps fund Moscow’s war effort in Ukraine.
India has long defended its energy purchases as essential for ensuring affordable supplies and energy security.
Earlier in an interaction with Doordarshan on Thursday, the Union minister said India and the US were making progress in their trade negotiations.
Goyal highlighted that India and the US are engaged in talks, with teams working together, and that the commerce secretary met with US counterparts to push talks forward toward a fair and equitable trade deal.
“We are in dialogue with the United States of America. Our teams are engaged. We recently had the commerce secretary visit the US, and he met with his counterparts. We continue to engage with them, and talks are progressing. We hope to work towards a fair and equitable agreement in the near future,” said Goyal.
India and the US are making significant progress on a long-stalled trade agreement aimed at reducing US tariffs on Indian imports from 50 per cent. India and the US aim to boost bilateral trade to $500 billion by 2030.
Goyal is in Germany to discuss on India-EU FTA among other things.
In a post on X, he said, “It was a pleasure to meet H.E. Dr. Levin Holle, Economic and Financial Policy Advisor to the Federal Chancellor and G7 & G20 Sherpa, Germany. Deliberated on opportunities for stronger Indo-German collaboration across key sectors. We also had positive discussions on the India-EU FTA. Both sides are committed to the shared prosperity of our nations.”
Earlier, US ambassador-designate Sergio Gor met with commerce secretary Rajesh Agarwal on October 13 to discuss economic ties between the two countries, including increased investment in the United States.
Gor also met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and affirmed that the relations between the two nations will continue to strengthen.