【By Observer News, Yuan Jiaqi】
This mid-month, the U.S.-India trade negotiations continued, and recently there were reports that both sides were "very close" to reaching an agreement. According to a report by The Hindustan Times and 24 others, on Friday, while visiting Germany, India's Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal strongly stated that India would not sign a trade agreement with the United States under pressure.
According to the report, during the "Global Dialogue" meeting held in Berlin on that day, Goyal explained India's principles in the trade negotiations. He emphasized that India is willing to engage in dialogue with all parties, but will not accept any time limit requirements.
He said, "Of course, we are communicating with the United States, but we will not hastily reach an agreement, nor will we do so under time constraints or 'with a gun at our heads'."
When an audience member raised the point that "current trade negotiations often depend on deadlines and tariffs," Goyal refuted it, stating that India's negotiation strategy is based on long-term considerations and will not make hasty decisions under short-term pressure.
"Even if the U.S. imposes additional tariffs on us, we face it calmly. We are thinking about how to deal with this situation. For example, exploring new markets to inject stronger demand into the Indian domestic economy," he added.
When asked about "India being required to reconsider its cooperation with Russia," Goyal continued to respond, saying that India has never decided to establish cooperation with anyone based on factors other than national interests.
"Clearly, no one can dictate India's choices: no one can tell us 'you cannot cooperate with Russia,' just as no one can tell us 'you cannot cooperate with the EU, Kenya, etc.,' " he continued, "I believe that when it comes to the issue of purchasing specific goods from which country, all countries around the world need to make their own decisions."
Goyal emphasized that India has a highly resilient economic structure with infinite potential. He expects the Indian economy to maintain its growth momentum for at least "20 to 25 years."
Indian Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal, screenshot from Indian media video
The Hindustan Times mentioned that the previous day, during an interview with Indian media, this Indian minister had revealed that the U.S.-India trade negotiations were making progress.
At that time, he said, "We are maintaining dialogue with the United States, and both teams continue to work. Recently, the Secretary of the Department of Commerce of India visited the United States and held talks with the corresponding officials of the U.S. We hope to promote the signing of a fair and equal agreement soon."
According to reports from The Indian Express and others, a senior Indian government official who is aware of the progress of the negotiations said on Friday that India and the U.S. were "very close" to reaching a trade agreement, and that the two countries had reached consensus on most issues. According to him, the negotiating teams had started drafting the wording of the agreement text, but the release of the final statement still required "political consensus" between the two countries.
Regarding the previous differences on oil and agricultural issues, this official said, "We are seeking common positions in the agricultural field. As a negotiating party, we clearly understand that the differences between the two sides are not large, and we are actively negotiating. The contact between the two sides is progressing smoothly."
Regarding the U.S. practice of continuously adding more imported goods to the tariff list, the official said that India would take measures in certain related areas.
He also mentioned that the two sides were still discussing some non-tariff barriers, and the next round of online meetings will be held next Monday. He added that U.S. negotiators may have the opportunity to conduct offline discussions in India.
India and the U.S. launched bilateral trade agreement negotiations in March this year, and so far have held five rounds of discussions on the first phase of the agreement.
In August this year, President Trump announced additional 25% "punitive" tariffs on Indian goods, citing India's purchase of Russian oil, raising the total tariff level to 50%. Recently, the U.S. has also tried to get G7 and EU countries to ask allies to tax India. In addition, the sharp increase in work visa fees has brought bilateral relations to a freezing point.
Regarding the issue of Russian oil procurement, the two countries have had continuous disputes. Last week, Trump publicly announced that he had spoken to Indian Prime Minister Modi, and Modi had agreed not to buy Russian energy. However, the Indian Foreign Ministry quickly issued a statement denying that the two leaders had communicated, but did not confirm or deny any changes in the energy import policy.
After being "faced down" by the Indian government, Trump still insisted that he had received Modi's commitment. On October 19, local time, Trump told reporters that if India does not reduce its purchase of Russian oil, the U.S. would not cancel the huge tariffs.
Soon after, on the 22nd, the Trump administration announced sanctions against two Russian oil companies - Lukoil and Rosneft. This was the first direct sanction against Russia by the Trump administration in his second term.
Reuters quoted industry sources as saying that in order to comply with the U.S. new sanctions against Russia, Indian refining companies are preparing to significantly cut their imports of Russian oil, which could remove a major obstacle for the U.S.-India trade agreement. Some sources also told American media that Russia's oil supply to India is expected to drop to "nearly zero" levels. The Indian Petroleum Ministry and state-owned refining companies have not immediately responded to requests for comments.
This mid-month, the Indian trade negotiation team once again arrived in the U.S. India's chief negotiator Rajesh Agrawal said after the meeting that India has the capacity to increase oil purchases from the U.S. by $1.5 billion. But he did not mention India stopping the purchase of Russian oil.
American media reported that India is reducing its trade surplus with the U.S. by purchasing more American goods, improving market access in India, and lowering trade barriers. Additionally, India is considering purchasing defense equipment and commodities such as oil worth about $40 billion from the U.S.
However, Agrawal also told Indian media at the time that due to the current shutdown of the U.S. government, this stage is not an "appropriate time" for the next round of formal bilateral trade agreement negotiations.
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