India is working for a good trade deal with the US in the national interest, but is not going to compromise on “the interests of our farmers, fishermen, workers, labour, and the dairy sector,” Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Tuesday.
Addressing the state industry ministers here, Goyal said while some sectors face headwinds in US markets, diversification is being given utmost importance.
For marine sector exports the European Union has approved 108 fisheries establishments in India for export to their markets. He said that talks have also started with Russia and we have got 25 fish companies or exporters whose inspection is either going on or completed. The countries in the Gulf region have also shown interest in Indian marine products, he said.
Apart from the US, the trade agreement with New Zealand has advanced to the final stages, an official said. After Goyal’s visit to New Zealand last week, trade and investment minister of New Zealand Todd McClay will visit India later this week.
The official said that talks with the EU are also going on very well. Last week the EU team was in India to advance the negotiations. The EU Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic is expected to visit India in the second week of December. Apart from new FTAs, the review of Asean India Trade in Goods Agreement (AITIGA) is also on priority as it also has a deadline of December 2025.
“The talks on the review are going well,” the official said. Asean took a long time to accept India’s request for a review and talks took even more time to start.