Piyush Goyal should be 'prioritising strengthening' trade relations with partner countries: Congress

Senior leader Anand Sharma said Goyal has forgotten that Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto was the chief guest for the 2025 Republic Day Parade.

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Deccan Herald

6 hours ago

• Deccan Herald

Piyush Goyal should be 'prioritising strengthening' trade relations with partner countries: Congress

Senior leader Anand Sharma said Goyal has forgotten that Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto was the chief guest for the 2025 Republic Day Parade.

First Post

7 hours ago

• First Post

Asean is China's B-team, India has no interest in having a trade deal with them: Piyush Goyal

At a time when India is engaged in multiple trade negotiations, Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal has slammed Asean countries as the 'B-team of China' and has called the trade deal with the bloc 'silly'. read more Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal has slammed Asean countries as the 'B-team of China' and has dubbed trade deals with them as 'silly'. Goyal's remarks have come at a time when India is holding trade negotiations with various countries and blocs, such as the United States, European Union (EU), Australia, and New Zealand. In recent time, India has signed trade deals with the United Kingdom and United Arab Emirates (UAE). Speaking at the India Global Forum in the UK, Goyal said in an apparent swipe at the previous Congress-led government that India was 'more focused on doing trade agreements with countries who were our competitors' instead of building complementary partnerships, according to NDTV Profit. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Goyal called such an approach 'silly'. He included the India-Asean trade agreement among such deals and said members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations bloc were 'B-team of China'. 'If I do an ASEAN agreement with Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, it really is silly, because I'm opening up my market to my competitors,' said Goyal. In an apparent reference to the issue of China manipulating country of origin norms by routing its goods via Asean countries, Goyal said that the bloc had become the 'B-Team of China'. Goyal further said, 'Instead of that, we're focusing on Australia and New Zealand, which will take another three to four months.' India and Asean signed the ASEAN–India Free Trade Area (AIFTA) in 2010. While the agreement led to the increase in trade by volume, the balance of trade remains heavily in favour of Asean countries. Coupled with the issue of China gaming the trade pact, the AIFTA has often drawn criticism about not being as beneficial to India as envisioned. Besides the United States, EU, Australia, and New Zealand, India is currently also negotiating trade deals with the trading bloc European Free Trade Association (EFTA), which comprises Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein, Switzerland. India is also holding trade talks with Chile and Peru.

India Gazette

9 hours ago

• India Gazette

Piyush Goyal's statement on India ASEAN Trade is unwarranted, says former Union Minister Anand Sharma

ANI 20 Jun 2025, 15:09 GMT+10 New Delhi [India], June 20 (ANI): Former Union Commerce & Industry Minister of India, Anand Sharma, on Friday said in a statement that the statement by Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal on 'belittling India ASEAN Trade Agreements is unwarranted, ill-advised and unfortunate.' Anand Sharma believes that both India and ASEAN has been together for three decades engaged in a multifaceted relationship which is mutually rewarding and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, is a regional bloc of ten Southeast Asian countries. Formed in 1967, its primary goals are to foster economic growth, social progress, and cultural development, while also promoting regional peace and further believes that this relationship is important for 'Look East policy to deepen and diversify India's relations with a region that is economically vibrant and of enormous geo-strategic importance for engagement with the Asia-Pacific region.''Piyush Goyal's statement terming the Trade agreement with ASEAN as silly and labelling these counties as B team of China is irresponsible and insulting. He has forgotten, that President of Indonesia Prabowo Subianto was the chief guest for 2025 Republic Day Parade,' Anand Sharma said. The former Union Minster in his statement also emphasized that, 'trade in goods with ASEAN counties also includes essential imports: Iron ore and Coal from Indonesia, Palm oil from Malaysia and Indonesia, Oil - Petroleum products from Brunei Dares Salam and Malaysia and pulses from Mayanmar.''It needs mention that ASEAN is India's 4th largest trading partner accounting for over 11% of India's total global trade with bilateral trade at 120billion USD and accounts for over 11% of India's Exports. FDI inflows from ASEAN to India account for over 18% of total FDI inflows since 2000,' he further about the Commerce Minister, he also said that, 'Commerce Minister should be prioritising strengthening trade relations with partner countries and not insulting them while bending backwards to negotiate a suboptimal trade agreement with USA on its terms.' (ANI)