Union Commerce and Trade Minister Piyush Goyal has made it clear that “India will not sign any trade deal in a hurry”. He was speaking at the Berlin Global Dialogue during an official visit, referring to European concerns over India’s continued purchases of Russian oil. He said India views trade as a long-term partnership based on mutual trust and will not accept any condition from any trading partner not to have relations with other countries.
According to the latest Reuters report, the EU, UK and US are pressuring New Delhi to reduce its imports of discounted Russian crude, which Western countries say is helping to finance Moscow’s war effort in Ukraine.
Trade imbroglio between India and the United States continues
The imbroglio between India and the United States continues on the question of opening the market for agricultural products and genetically modified products. Negotiations broke down after the United States announced high tariffs of 50% on Indian goods, including a 25% duty on the purchase of Russian oil. Goyal told Doordarshan in Berlin on Thursday that “We (India) are in dialogue with the US and our teams are engaged. The Commerce Secretary recently visited the US and met his counterparts. We continue to engage with them and the talks are progressing. We hope to work towards a fair and equitable agreement in the near future.”
Recently, US President Donald Trump said he spoke with Prime Minister Narendra Modi over India-US trade issues and said India has also agreed to reduce its purchases of Russian oil. The Indian government has not issued any official comment on the matter.
India’s energy purchases on the radar
India has long defended its energy purchases as key to ensuring affordable supply and energy security, but Indian refiners are now prepared to slash Russian oil imports to comply with new U.S. sanctions against two major Russian producers.
The country is negotiating a free trade agreement with the European Union, with lingering differences over market access, environmental standards and rules of origin. Trade negotiations with the United States, which has imposed 50% tariffs on Indian exports, and several other countries are also underway.
Talks on India-EU FTA
Goyal added that the European Union’s trade regulations are harming bilateral trade. Goyal is in Europe to discuss advanced negotiations on the free trade agreement between India and the European Union. During the Union Minister’s visit, there will be no more formal rounds of negotiations after 14th round of negotiations concluded recently in Brussels.
In the ongoing negotiations, India and the European Union expect tariff liberalization, wider market access and greater flexibility. The European Union is demanding reductions in import duties on cars for better access to the Indian auto market, as well as reductions in import taxes on wine, meat, spirits, poultry, and a strong intellectual property regime.
India’s trade team is pushing for duty-free access to labor-intensive products and other emerging sectors, such as automobiles and electronics. One of the major issues for India in the ongoing negotiations is the imposition by the European Union of a carbon tax on imports of steel, aluminum, cement and fertilizers, which is expected to come into force from January 2026.
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