If US is ‘happy’, they should sign on dotted lines: Piyush Goyal

MUMBAI: A day after US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer’s comments on India giving its best offer for a trade deal, commerce & industry minister Piyush Goyal Thursday said Washington should move ahead and sign an agreement. “His happiness is very much welcome. And, I do believe that if they are very happy, they should be signing on the dotted lines,” Goyal told reporters, without disclosing details about the offer.By all accounts, govt has given an “attractive offer” to the US, which not just addresses American President Donald Trump’s immediate concerns over reducing the trade deficit, through a reduction in import duty and higher purchase of energy and other goods, but also provides a longer path for tariff reduction across several product categories. At the same time, govt has sought to protect sensitive sectors, especially farm goods and dairy products.The minister said that trade negotiations with the US are progressing well but was unclear about the comments made by CEA V Anantha Nageswaran earlier in the day.In an interview, govt’s top economist had told Bloomberg TV that he would be surprised if a trade deal with the US isn’t signed by March, as most trade-related issues have been resolved. “I was hoping something would be done by the end of Nov, but it has turned out to be elusive,” Nageswaran said. “That’s why it is difficult to give a timeline on this. However, I would be surprised if we don’t have it sealed by the end of the financial year.“Responding to queries, Goyal said: “I am not aware of the basis of CEA’s comments, you will have to probably refer back to the CEA. I can only say that negotiations are progressing well… we have had substantive discussions over several rounds of negotiations in the past.”He also said the current visit of the US delegation is not centred around trade negotiations, but it is more about getting to know new deputy US trade representative (USTR) Rick Switzer.