‘Absolutely no compromise on agriculture, dairy, sugar’: Piyush Goyal on India-US trade deal

India-US trade deal: New Delhi, in its negotiations with Washington over the trade deal, offered “absolutely no compromise” on products that are sensitive for India, said Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal, in an interview with India Today. He said the deal was a win-win for India. 

He said Prime Minister Narendra Modi guided him to respect others’ sensitivities and ensure that other nations respect our sensitivities. “Believe me it makes the job of negotiations so much simpler because we trust each other,” he said. 

Talking about how India negotiated the trade deal, Goyal said, “We have not compromised on soya bean, it cannot come. We are one of the largest importers of soya bean oil. We have been importing large quantities of soya bean oil since 2004. We have only given a quota in soya bean oil but have not opened up soya bean, it is not allowed to be imported.”

Goyal said wherever there are sensitivities, the government has made no compromise. He said India needs to import certain products, like certain fruits, even from the US. “So giving a concession there is a zero sum game. It only helps to get better quality apples than the one we get from Turkey, for example, which many Indians don't want to eat.”

“So, I think our approach is where India needs a certain thing we welcome it, whether it's agriculture, whether it's industrial goods, whether it's ICT, whether it's technology goods…so when I give a quota, I am actually doing a service for the consumers because now there are more options,” he said in the interview. 

“There’s absolutely no compromise on maize, absolutely no compromise on dairy, absolutely no compromise on GM products, absolutely no compromise on cereals like rice and wheat, absolutely no compromise on sugar, absolutely no compromise on a variety of products, which are often found sensitive in the Indian context,” said Goyal. 

“It's absolutely a win-win for India,” said the minister, adding that countries now expect India to be giving them a fair deal and also recognise India as a trusted partner to help their economies in the future.

He said the idea is to look for commonalities. “I respect their sensitivities, they respect our sensitivities. For example, the US does not allow tobacco to come into their country. They have very high duties, import duties on tobacco. Now, should I be fighting? I'm a big exporter of tobacco products. But why should I be fighting? I have other markets to look for and similarly they have many markets for their produce,” he said.