- India may rebalance US trade deal to protect its interests after Supreme Court ruling
- Joint statement allows tariff changes to lead to modified commitments by either country
- India-US meeting postponed to reassess impact of US Supreme Court decision on tariffs
Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal on Friday said that India would go in for a 'rebalancing' of the proposed trade agreement with the United States, if required, to protect its interests after the US Supreme Court's verdict on US President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs.
"We'll have to watch. And by the way, you must have read my joint statement that we had finalised with the US. It has categorically said that should the circumstances change, the deal would be rebalanced...to ensure that the balance of the deal is maintained on both sides," said Goyal.
He said that since the situation is still evolving, the Trump administration can use other tools to increase tariffs. "Various dialogues are going on. I had said that if the circumstances change, the deal will be rebalanced," he added.
The joint statement was issued on February 7 and included a provision stating that in the event of any changes to agreed-upon tariffs by either country, the other may modify its commitments. This "rebalancing" clause ensures that the "sanctity of the deal is both ways," according to Goyal.
He was optimistic about the outcome of the trade deal with the US. "There are so many positives in the US deal; let us see how the situation moves forward. International trade deal is about competitive advantage," he said.
He reiterated that sensitive dairy and farm sectors have been protected in the proposed arrangement.
"No GM foods will come into India. Dairy, maize, soybean and poultry are exempt from the US trade deal. We have preserved the interests of farmers, dairy. The deal preserves our interests," the minister said.
Trump had announced a 10 per cent tariff on all trading partners for 150 days and increased the tariffs to 15 per cent a day later, after the setback in the Supreme Court on February 20.
India and Washington have decided to reschedule the official meeting over the interim bilateral trade agreement so that both sides can factor in the implications of the US Supreme Court judgement striking down the Trump administration's tariff hikes.
A three-day meeting between teams headed by the chief trade negotiators of the two countries was earlier slated to take place in the US on February 23. A decision will be taken to fix a new date for the meeting that is convenient for both sides.
(With inputs from agencies)
