Broad contours of Indo-US trade deal resolved: Goyal

Hinting at an early announcement of the first set of agreements under the proposed India-US trade deal, Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal on Monday said that India and the US have resolved the broad contours of the proposed agreement.

In his address at a conference of the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum, the minister said both sides would have announced the package by now but due to the preoccupation of the US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer regarding other trade negotiations, the announcement has been delayed.

"We have almost resolved resolved the broad contours of what we are going to announce. I don't see any great difficulty in closing the gap in the first announcement," Goyal said.

He assured that the trade talks are on track. He also said that the relations between the two countries and the friendship between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump would ensure a smooth trade deal and better relations.

Indo-US relations have witnessed a few hiccups off late, with the US stripping India off the GSP (Generalized System of Preferences) benefits and the two countries imposing higher tariffs on each other's products earlier this year.

Regarding the concerns over the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), the minister said that the government would not take any decision that would not be in the interest of the country.

Meanwhile, external Affairs Minister S Jaishankar expressed confidence that the two countries have an "extremely strong" relationship and can overcome any obstacle.