Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal, while speaking in the Parliament on the 25% tariffs levied by the United States, pointed out that the country is soon going to be the "world's third largest economy", and will start striking bilateral trade pacts with developed countries in the period to come.
Goyal's statement is seen as a rebuttal to Donald Trump's assertion that the Indian economy is "dead".
"I don't care what India does with Russia. They can take their dead economies down together, for all I care. We have done very little business with India, their tariffs are too high, among the highest in the world," Trump posted on social media, hours after he announced 25% import levies on India.
In addition to the 25% tariffs that will come into effect from Aug. 1, Trump on Wednesday said India would also face an "additional penalty" for being a top buyer of Russian military equipment and Russian crude oil.
Goyal, while commenting on the tariffs, said the government is "examining the impact of the recent events" and will take all necessary steps to "safeguard our national interest".
"Ministry of Commerce and Industry is holding talks with exporters, industries and all stakeholders and gathering information on their assessment of this issue. Government gives utmost priority to the safeguarding of welfare of farmers, labourers, entrepreneurs, industrialists, exporters, MSMEs and stakeholders of the industrial sector," he added.
Notably, India and the US have so far held multiple rounds of negotiations to strike a trade deal. The most recent round of talks concluded in Washington earlier this month, and a team from the US is expected to visit India on Aug. 25 for the next set of negotiations.
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