Piyush Goyal said that the trade agreement with the UK should be fair, equitable and balanced.
New Delhi:
Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Thursday said that India’s talks with Britain on a proposed free trade agreement are going well, but New Delhi will have to “wait and see” the ongoing political developments in Britain.
Troubled British Prime Minister Liz Truss has resigned as leader of the Conservative Party, saying she could no longer fulfill the mandate she was elected last month, her 45th in the job after an open rebellion against the anarchist. Day 10 is ending her humiliating tenure at Downing Street. Leadership.
The 47-year-old outgoing prime minister will remain in charge until his successor is chosen by the governing Tory party, with a quick leadership election completed by next week.
“We will have to wait and see… what happens, does they have a quick change of leadership, does it go through the whole process… So let’s see who comes into the government and what are their views. It is only then that we will be able to work out a strategy with the UK,” Mr Goyal said at the CII’s National Export Summit in New Delhi.
However, he said that all leaders and businesses in the UK recognized that it was also “very” important for them to have an FTA (free trade agreement) with India.
“So my own understanding is that whoever comes to the government will want to join us,” he said.
The minister said that the trade agreement should be fair, equitable and balanced.
He said that it should be a win-win deal for both the parties and till both are satisfied there is no settlement.
“So we will have to wait and see. But I believe our FTAs with UK, Canada, EU, one or two more we can announce soon, which is fine,” Goyal said.
He was responding to a question about developments in Britain and FTA talks with India.
In addition, he said the $2 trillion export target for goods and services by 2027 “looks challenging” and “we can do it by 2030”.
If the situation becomes favorable for India and if the industry puts in a lot of effort, “I will be the happiest person if we can do it by 2027” but sadly we have lost time during covid and due to struggle Losing momentum are between Ukraine and Russia, which has caused so many economic tensions around the world – inflation, supply chain disruptions, energy issues.
He said that if exports of goods grow at a CAGR of 12 per cent and 18-19 per cent in dollar terms, both could touch USD 1 trillion by 2030.
Talking about Mutual Recognition Agreements (MRAs) on standards, he said, the ministry is finding “very little” traction for entering into MRAs in many parts of the world.
“At least the developed world is very hesitant to accept a very high MRA for whatever reason… perhaps they need more time to build confidence in our ability to provide high quality goods and services,” he said.
He said the way forward is that India should place a quality control order on the products they want to supply to India and then “we will have a level playing field where we say (that) you give us an MRA and we will give you an MRA.” Will give an MRA”.
Reciprocity is the way forward, he said.
However, he added that Indian industries raise concerns over Quality Control Orders (QCOs) and do not support the government on the same.
“I would urge all of you to consider it. Tell us in which industries you want QCO, so it will give us some advantage over other countries and give us an opportunity to come to the negotiating table.
Piyush Goyal said, “Some of you face non-tariff barriers because of QCOs (of other countries). The US has 4,500 QCOs and we have only 450 and you have to offer high quality standards. oppose our effort.”
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)