India will not accept conditions of any trading partner of not having relation with some other country, commerce minister Piyush Goyal said in Berlin on Friday in what was seen as yet another sign that a trade deal between India and the US is unlikely to come to fruition soon.
New Delhi will not sign any trade deal in a hurry, Goyal said, adding that India views trade deals as long-term partnerships based on mutual trust.
"India does not enter into trade pacts in hurry or with a gun to our head," he said.
He is visiting Berlin to deepen economic ties with Germany. He met Ola Källenius, CEO of Mercedes-Benz Group, on Thursday.
“We discussed the company’s operations in India & their plans for expansion as they are working towards fostering greater innovation and sustainable growth in the Indian automotive industry,” Goyal posted after that meeting.
The proposed trade deal between Washington and Delhi has been in limbo for a while now despite many rounds of talks and it is believed that the reason is India’s “red lines” around agriculture and dairy products.
US President Donald Trump has “punished” India for buying Russian crude oil – which Washington says finances Moscow’s war in Ukraine – by slapping 50 per cent tariffs on goods from India.
That barrier seems to have been removed with Trump’s sanctions on two top Russian oil giants, Rosneft and Lukoil, which will force Indian refineries to drastically reduce buying from Moscow under threat of financial sanctions.
The trade deal, however, remains pending despite speculative stories in the media declaring that the two countries are close to an agreement.
One such speculation was proved wrong when it was revealed on Thursday that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend the upcoming Asean (Association of South East Asian Nations) Summit in Kuala Lumpur later this month virtually.
Trump is scheduled to be in Kuala Lumpur, so Modi not being there physically means the two shall not meet.