Union Minister of Commerce and Trade, Piyush Goyal made it very 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 that India views trade as long-term partnerships based on mutual trust, and it will not accept conditions of any trading partners of not having relations with other countries.
As per the latest Reuters report, the EU, United Kingdom and the United States are pressuring New Delhi to scale back imports of discounted Russian crude, which the Western nations argue helps fund Moscow’s war effort in Ukraine.
India- US trade imbroglio continues
The India-US deal imbroglio continues over the issue of opening the agriculture and GM product market. The talks halted after the US announced high tariffs of 50% on Indian goods, including a 25% tariff for purchasing Russian oil. Goyal told Doordarshan in Berlin on Thursday that “We (India) are in dialogue with the USA, and our teams are engaged. The Commerce Secretary recently visited the US and met with his counterparts. We continue to engage with them, and talks are progressing. We hope to work towards a fair and equitable agreement in the near future,”
Recently, US President Donald Trump stated that he spoke to Prime Minister Narendra Modi about India-US trade issues and said India has also agreed to reduce its purchasing of Russian oil. The Indian Government has not released any official comment on the same.
India’s energy purchases on the radar
ndia has long defended its energy purchases as essential for ensuring affordable supplies and energy security, but Indian refiners are now poised to sharply curtail imports of Russian oil to comply with new U.S. sanctions on two major Russian producers.
The country is negotiating a long-pending free trade agreement with the European Union, with differences remaining over market access, environmental standards and rules of origin. Trade talks with the United States, which has imposed 50% tariffs on Indian exports, and several other countries are also underway.
India-EU FTA talks
Goyal added that the European Union’s trade regulations are hurting the bilateral trade. Goyal is in Europe to discuss the advanced talks 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 the 14th round concluded in Brussels recently.
In the ongoing negotiations, India and the European Union are expecting tariff liberalisation, larger market access and flexibility. The European Union is demanding import duty cuts on cars for higher access to the Indian auto market and import tax cuts on wine, meat, spirits, poultry, and a strong intellectual property regime.
The Indian trade team is pushing for duty-free access to labour-intensive products and other emerging sectors, such as auto and electronics. A major issue for India in the ongoing negotiations is the European Union’s imposition of a carbon tax on imports of steel, aluminium, cement, and fertilisers, which is scheduled to take effect from January 2026.