'We don't do deals with a gun to our head,' says Goyal as India and US near finalising trade pact

Negotiations with the US enter final stage as most differences resolved

- MPOST BUREAU

India and the United States are nearing the final stages of a long-pending bilateral trade agreement, officials said on Friday, even as Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal maintained that New Delhi would not rush into any deal or act under pressure.

Speaking at the Berlin Global Dialogue, Goyal confirmed that India is in active discussions for trade pacts with both the European Union and the United States. “We do not do deals in a hurry and we do not do deals with deadlines or with a gun to our head,” he said. “India never takes decisions in a rush or in the heat of the moment.”

A senior official from the Commerce Ministry said that negotiations between New Delhi and Washington have reached an advanced stage. “We are very near as far as the deal is concerned,” the official noted. “Not many differences are there now for the resolution. We are converging on most of the issues.”