India negotiating trade pacts with US, other nations: Goyal
He also exuded confidence that India's exports in 2025-26 will exceed last year's figures.
In 2024-25, India's goods and services exports touched USD 825 billion. 'We are in dialogue with many countries -- Oman, the European Union, the US, Chile, Peru, New Zealand. Many others want to start engaging with India.
'So today the world recognises the strengths of India, recognises our demographic advantages... 1.4 billion people bring aggregate demand, huge domestic market... why else do you think everybody is vying to do trade or have a better market access (in India),' Goyal said here at the BT India @100 event. India and the US are negotiating a bilateral trade agreement since March. For the next round of talks, a US team is scheduled to visit India from August 25.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hindustan Times
7 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
India welcomes meet between Trump, Putin
New Delhi India on Saturday welcomed a planned meeting between US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to discuss the war in Ukraine and said it would support all efforts aimed at ending the conflict. India welcomes meet between Trump, Putin External affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal announced India's endorsement of the upcoming Russia-US Summit after Trump said on social media that he would meet Putin in Alaska on August 15. India welcomes the understanding between the US and Russia for the meeting in Alaska since it 'holds the promise of bringing to an end the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and opening up the prospects for peace', Jaiswal said. Jaiswal reiterated Prime Minister Narendra Modi's assertion in the context of the Russia-Ukraine conflict that 'this is not an era of war', and said: 'India, therefore, endorses the upcoming summit meeting and stands ready to support these efforts.' Modi has called for an end to hostilities and a return to the path of dialogue and diplomacy in his engagements with Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky since the start of Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. He made separate visits to Russia and Ukraine last year and urged the two leaders to return to negotiations to find a peaceful solution. He also said that talks cannot succeed under the shadow of the gun and a solution cannot be found on the battlefield. India has never publicly censured Russia's actions or participated in international efforts aimed at ending the conflict. Indian officials have said that New Delhi has played a role in passing messages between Moscow and Kyiv. Trump's announcement about the meeting with the Russian President came shortly after a phone conversation on Friday between Modi and Putin, who briefed the Indian leader on the latest developments related to Ukraine. In recent days, India has faced fresh pressure from Trump over its continuing purchases of Russian oil. Trump slapped a 25% tariff on India over Russian oil purchases, which was in addition to a 25% reciprocal tariff that came into effect on Thursday. Trump has contended that India is profiting by selling much of its Russian oil purchases on the open market, and also financing Russia's war machine. India has accused the US and the European Union (EU) of adopting double standards on sanctions and said it will take all necessary steps to protect its national interests. Uncertainties remain about the planned talks between Trump and Putin, especially after reports in the American media that the US is trying to persuade European leaders to accept an agreement that will include Russia occupying the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine and keeping Crimea, while giving up Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, which it partially occupies. On the other hand, Zelensky has said any solution must include Ukraine and that 'Ukrainians will not gift their land to the occupier'. He also said he is ready to work with all partners for a 'lasting peace'. Trump indicated on Friday that Ukraine may have to cede territory to end the war. 'It's very complicated. We're going to get some [territory] back, we're going to get some switched. There will be some swapping of territories, to the betterment of both,' he said. It is still not clear if Ukraine and its European allies will agree to such a deal, and Zelensky said on social media on Saturday: 'We are ready to work together with President Trump, together with all our partners for real, and most importantly, lasting peace. A peace that will not collapse because of Moscow's desires.'
The Hindu
37 minutes ago
- The Hindu
Will India cave in to U.S. pressure on Russian oil?
The story so far: On August 6, U.S. President Donald Trump announced a whopping 25% penalty tariff on Indian goods for India's import of Russian oil. This was on top of the 25% reciprocal tariffs announced on July 31 after Indian and U.S. negotiators failed to reach a Free Trade Agreement (FTA). How has India responded to the tariffs? India has so far not announced any overt action against the U.S. for its tariffs. The 25% reciprocal tariffs went into effect on August 7, and the impact will unfold in the upcoming weeks. Already, reports suggest garment exporters are facing trouble with U.S. importers suspending orders, given that U.S. tariffs on Asian competitors in Vietnam, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka are much lower. Mr. Trump's penalty tariffs, meanwhile, will go into effect on August 27, and New Delhi is hopeful that there will be some change in position. As a result, India's response has been carried in three statements. On August 4, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) issued a release criticising both the U.S. and the European Union for 'targeting' India over Russian oil imports, pointing out that they both continue to trade with Russia. While the U.S. procures critical minerals, chemicals and nuclear trade components, the EU countries continue to buy oil and LNG from Russia. On August 6, the MEA called the U.S. actions 'extremely unfortunate' and 'unfair, unjustified and unreasonable', vowing to protect India's national interests. On August 7, Prime Minister Modi said that he was ready to pay a price 'personally' to protect the interests of India's farmers, fishermen and livestock, and dairy keepers. This was an indication that India-U.S. trade talks had broken down over market access to the agricultural sector. Between giving in on market access or giving up Russian oil, India appears to be facing two 'impossible' choices. Can the tariffs be stopped? Mr. Trump has announced that he will meet Russian President Vladimir Putin on August 15 in Alaska, which incidentally will be the first Putin trip to the U.S. since 2015 when he travelled to the UN for a summit. According to reports, Mr. Putin has offered to stop the war in exchange for keeping territories the Russian forces control, but it is unclear if this would be acceptable to Ukraine and European countries. If there is a deal, India may receive a roll back of the Russian oil penalties, and the MEA issued a statement Saturday welcoming and 'endorsing' plans for the Trump-Putin Summit. In his executive order of August 6, Mr. Trump has given himself 'modification authority', if Russia were to 'take significant steps' to end the Ukraine war and security threats to the U.S. In addition, a U.S. team of FTA negotiators are scheduled to visit Delhi on August 25. If India makes certain concessions on trade and market access, a mini-trade deal could go a long way in reducing the U.S. tariffs. How much Russian oil does India procure? Prior to Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, India imported very little oil from Russia. Ural oil, considered 'heavy' crude and priced too high as Russia had European buyers, consisted only 1% of India's basket of sellers. After the EU began to sanction Russia, and committed to zeroing out all energy purchases from Russia, the price of Ural dropped, and India, as well as China and others, began to pick up more Russian oil. By May 2023, India was importing two million plus barrels of Russian crude per day (bpd), making up between 35-40% of India's basket. Russia has been its largest supplier since. However, India-Russia energy ties go beyond this trade. After the Modi-Putin summit in Sochi in May 2018, and Mr. Putin's visit to India for the annual summit that year, the India-Russia joint statement recorded investments of over $5 billion by an Indian consortium of PSUs in Vankorneft and Taas-Yuryakh Neftegazodobycha in Russia. Russian oil major Rosneft picked up a 49% stake in Essar Oil for $12.9 billion. The new entity was renamed Nayara Energy, and it included Essar's Vadinar refinery in Gujarat — 49% stake went to a consortium, and Essar retained 2%. Vadinar refinery, along with other private refiners like Reliance, began to reprocess Russian oil and export it to other countries over the next few years. Mr. Trump called this, 'selling it on the open markets for big profits'. None of this violated any sanctions, and despite requests from Western countries, the government continued to purchase oil from Russia, saving India about $13 billion by 2024 and a further $3.8 billion in 2025, according to estimates by the ICRA. Experts say it will be difficult for the government to give in to U.S. pressure this time, economically as well as politically and diplomatically. The Indian government would lose face domestically, and risk damaging ties with an all-important friend, Russia. For the moment, Kpler reports that the price of Ural has dropped after demand has reduced from Indian companies, but experts say it is unlikely to completely stop Russian imports, even as India broadens its non-Russian intake through the U.S., Iraq, Kuwait, UAE and Saudi Arabia. What happened with oil imports from Iran? India's refusal to stop importing Russian oil was a shift from 2018, when Mr. Trump had demanded India's compliance in 'zeroing out' oil from Iran and Venezuela. After initially maintaining that India would not bow to such diktats, the government caved in by May 2019, and stopped all its direct oil purchases from both Iran and Venezuela, incurring heavy losses, as the oil was both 'sweet' for its refineries and priced competitively. What does this mean for foreign policy? Since 1999, after the U.S. placed sanctions on India for nuclear tests, Delhi and Washington have worked tirelessly to change relations between them. They have built trust for a quarter of a century through a civil nuclear deal, military and defence cooperation, counter-terror cooperation, technology partnerships and the Quad grouping in the Indo-Pacific. Experts in both countries say that besides hurting Indian trade, Mr. Trump's actions will damage the India-U.S. relationship in several other areas. At the same time, Delhi's moves to shore up strategic autonomy and independence are significant. National Security Adviser Ajit Doval travelled to Moscow last week to prepare for Mr. Putin's visit to India, and External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar is expected to follow later in the month. Mr. Modi will travel to Japan and then to China for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit and a bilateral meeting with President Xi Jinping, on his first such visit since the 2020 LAC (Line of Actual Control) military clashes. Moreover, Delhi is due to host the Quad summit this November, and much will depend on whether Mr. Modi and Mr. Trump can restore ties by then.
Indian Express
3 hours ago
- Indian Express
Europe and Ukraine press US ahead of Trump-Putin talks
European officials were reported to have presented their own Ukraine peace proposals to the United States on Saturday as President Donald Trump prepared for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on ending the war. Trump announced on Friday that he would meet Putin in Alaska on August 15, saying the parties, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, were close to a deal that could resolve the three-and-a-half-year conflict. Details of the potential deal have yet to be announced, but Trump said it would involve 'some swapping of territories to the betterment of both'. It could require Ukraine to surrender significant parts of its territory – an outcome Kyiv and its European allies say would only encourage Russian aggression. US Vice President JD Vance met Ukrainian and European allies in Britain on Saturday to discuss Trump's push for peace. The Wall Street Journal said European officials had presented a counter-proposal, including demands that a cease-fire must take place before any other steps are taken and that any territory exchange must be reciprocal, with firm security guarantees. 'You can't start a process by ceding territory in the middle of fighting,' it quoted one European negotiator as saying. European officials contacted by Reuters were unable to confirm the report. Zelenskyy said the meeting was constructive. 'All our arguments were heard,' he said in his evening address to Ukrainians. 'The path to peace for Ukraine should be determined together and only together with Ukraine, this is key principle,' he said. He had earlier rejected any territorial concessions, saying 'Ukrainians will not give their land to the occupier'. French President Emmanuel Macron also said Ukraine must play a role in any negotiations. 'Ukraine's future cannot be decided without the Ukrainians, who have been fighting for their freedom and security for over three years now,' he wrote on X after what he said were calls with Zelenskyy, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. 'Europeans will also necessarily be part of the solution, as their own security is at stake.' Zelenskyy has made a flurry of calls with Ukraine's allies since Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff's visit to Moscow on Wednesday which Trump described as having achieved 'great progress'. 'Clear steps are needed, as well as maximum coordination between us and our partners,' Zelenskyy said in a post on X earlier on Saturday. Ukraine and the European Union have pushed back on proposals that they view as ceding too much to Putin, whose troops invaded Ukraine in February 2022, citing what Moscow called threats to Russia's security from a Ukrainian pivot towards the West. Kyiv and its Western allies say the invasion is an imperial-style land grab. After the talks in Britain, Axios reporter Barak Ravid cited a US official as saying: 'Today's hours-long meetings produced significant progress toward President Trump's goal of bringing an end to the war in Ukraine.' It was not clear what, if anything, had been agreed. Moscow has previously claimed four Ukrainian regions – Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson – as well as the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea, which was annexed in 2014. Russian forces do not fully control all the territory in the four regions and Russia has demanded that Ukraine pull out its troops from the parts of all four of them that they still control. Ukraine says its troops still have a small foothold in Russia's Kursk region a year after its troops crossed the border to try to gain leverage in any negotiations. Russia said it had expelled Ukrainian troops from Kursk in April. Tatiana Stanovaya, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center, described the current peace push as 'the first more or less realistic attempt to stop the war'. 'At the same time, I remain extremely sceptical about the implementation of the agreements, even if a truce is reached for a while. And there is virtually no doubt that the new commitments could be devastating for Ukraine,' she said. Fierce fighting is raging along the more than 1,000-km (620-mile) front line along eastern and southern Ukraine, where Russian forces hold around a fifth of the country's territory. Russian troops are slowly advancing in Ukraine's east, but their summer offensive has so far failed to achieve a major breakthrough, Ukrainian military analysts say. Ukrainians remain defiant. 'Not a single serviceman will agree to cede territory, to pull out troops from Ukrainian territories,' Olesia Petritska, 51, told Reuters as she gestured to hundreds of small Ukrainian flags in the Kyiv central square commemorating fallen soldiers.
