India and the United States (US) are working "quickly" to close the proposed bilateral trade agreement between them, said Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Saturday. The 61-year-old leader, who is a Lok Sabha MP from the Mumbai North constituency, also expressed confidence that a "good news" regarding this will be announced soon in the coming days.
He made the remarks when asked when would the "father of all deals" between India and the US would become a reality during an interview with news agency PTI.
"Every free trade agreement stands on its own legs, and we are having very good negotiations. My counterpart in the US and I share a wonderful working relationship and a wonderful personal friendship. We are working towards closing the deal quickly. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Trump share a very good friendship, which is on record, and I am very confident you will hear good news in the near future," he said.
"Well, I have always said that trade deals are never negotiated with a deadline. It will happen at the right time and in the interests of both countries," he added.
Trade negotiations between India and the US have been going on for a while. In December last year, a delegation of US officials, led by Deputy Trade Representative Ambassador Rick Switzer, visited Delhi to negotiate with the Indian side. This was the second such visit by US officials after the Trump administration imposed 50 per cent tariffs on India, citing trade imbalance and purchase of Russian crude by Delhi.
Goyal lauds 'mother of all deals' with EU
During his interview with PTI, the union minister also lauded the 'mother of all deals' with the European Union (EU). India already has a trade surplus in exports of both goods and services to the EU, he noted, adding that its outbound shipments will likely double in the next five years.
"This mother is neither going to be very strict nor lenient. This mother is going to be compassionate, this mother is going to be loving, and this mother is going to make sure that both her children and, for that matter, the 27 nations of Europe and India, all 28 children will enjoy the fruits of this free trade agreement," he said.
He also said that Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) should also start looking at the high-paying and the large European market. The government has also amended the MSME definitions so that businesses are not forced to stay small, he said, adding that the idea is to encourage small and medium businesses to grow big and explore world markets.
"We have been continuously supporting MSMEs through a variety of programmes and initiatives. Prime Minister Modi, from day one, has been very conscious of the importance of MSMEs. If you recall, even the MUDRA loan was aimed at helping MSMEs come into the formal structure, so much so that even hawkers have been brought under its ambit through the PM SVANidhi scheme," he said.
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