Mumbai, Feb 18 (IANS) Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal, on Tuesday, said India and the United States do not compete as much as they complement each other, and discussions are underway with various stakeholders, both within and outside the government, to strengthen trade ties between the two nations.

India’s efforts to double trade with the United States to $500 billion by 2030 were underscored by the Union Minister in his virtual address at the NDTV Profit Conclave.

“This is a relationship between two friendly nations, trusted partners, and powerful democracies. We do not compete as much as we complement each other,” said Goyal.

The Union Minister highlighted that India’s position in global trade negotiations had been strengthened due to its focus on protecting domestic industries from non-market economies that lack transparent trading systems. “Our biggest concern has been economies that do not give equal access to India when we are trading with them. To protect domestic industries, higher tariffs have often been resorted to,” he stressed.

A similar concern was noted for the US, where lower tariffs have led to market disruptions due to an influx of goods from such economies.

“In a way, the problem of America is the same as India’s…What we are working on is finding a way to resolve this issue for both countries,” Goyal said.

According to the Union Minister, trade relations between India and the US have already been bolstered through strategic, bilateral, and multilateral engagements, including defence ties, education, and people-to-people connections.

Apex business chambers have hailed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the US as a landmark event in strengthening India-US trade and investment relations.

There were several tangible outcomes from the PM’s visit to the US. These include strengthening cooperation in defence, terrorism, energy security covering both fossil fuels and nuclear power, trade and investment besides leveraging India’s human capital.

Another major outcome is the development of a US-India roadmap for accelerating AI Infrastructure by the end of the year. The ambitious target of $500 billion bilateral trade by 2030 is eminently achievable while agreement on negotiation for a Bilateral Trade Agreement would pave the way for new trade and investment opportunities between the two nations.

–IANS

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