‘No Deadline Can Override National Interest’: Piyush Goyal Flags Concerns Over Trade Talks with EU

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New Delhi: Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal on Friday made it clear that India will not rush into trade agreements merely to meet deadlines, asserting that national interest remains non-negotiable. His remarks came during his address at the Carnegie Global Technology Summit held in the national capital.

“You always need to have timelines for all deadlines for whatever work you do. We do that in business all the time, don’t we? Every action should be defined in terms of a responsibility that takes a timeline, but in the case of retail agreements, these are indicated timelines…,” said Goyal, stressing that while timelines are important, they cannot come at the cost of fairness.

He further underlined, “But at the end of the day, it has to be a win-win for both sides. It has to be a fair, equitable, and balanced solution. Just to meet the deadline, you cannot compromise national interest.”

India is currently engaged in negotiating multiple trade agreements, including Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with the European Union (EU), the United Kingdom (UK), and the United States (US). The much-anticipated India-US trade deal is expected to be signed by the fall of 2025, while the India-EU FTA is being targeted for conclusion by the end of the same year.

However, Goyal expressed serious concern over the EU’s stance, especially regarding climate-related non-tariff barriers. He said such policies are creating significant hurdles in negotiations.

“Unless Europe recognizes the path that they are going down, if I can say it down a little bit, I see serious difficulty for Europe to be able to do trade with any country to get India. I am actually a worried man for the very future of the European Union and their position, given the kind of dramatically difficult non-tariff barriers that they have set up, both for their own benefit and for the benefit of the people,” he explained.

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