India-US trade deal: Piyush Goyal said interests of farmers and dairy sector protected in interim trade agreement, what more he told?
Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has said that the interests of the country's farmers and the dairy sector have been fully protected in the interim trade agreement with the United States.
Speaking at a press conference on Saturday, Goyal said that some agricultural products exported from India to the US will be completely exempt from tariffs.
Several Indian agricultural products will be exported
According to Goyal, several Indian agricultural products, such as spices, tea, coffee and related products, coconut and coconut oil, vegetable wax, betel nuts, Brazil nuts, cashews, and chestnuts, will have zero tariffs. Several fruits and vegetables are also included in this list.
He stated that Indian agricultural products will be exported to the US at zero tariff, while US agricultural products have not been given any tariff concessions in India.
GM food not to enter India
Piyush Goyal clarified that the agreement does not allow genetically modified (GM) food to enter India. He said, "This agreement will open up a $30 trillion (approximately ₹27.18 lakh crore) market for Indian exporters."
Goyal's statement comes after the formal announcement of the interim trade deal between the US and India. His statement is significant because opposition parties in India have been accusing the Modi government of opening up the Indian market to American agricultural products through this trade deal.
We have opened our markets to the US for certain products
Goyal also explained which American products will gain access to the Indian market.
He said, "While protecting the interests of our Indian farmers, we have opened our markets to the US for certain products, such as distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS), wine, and spirits, on which we have also fixed a minimum import price."
He added, "We aim to increase India-US bilateral trade to $500 billion. The trade agreement has opened up new opportunities for investors, and they should take advantage of them."