We negotiate from position of strength, not under deadlines: Goyal on US trade deal after Cong jab

BENGALURU: With the Congress mocking the BJP-led NDA government over the proposed trade deal with the US, Union Minister Piyush Goyal on Saturday said India negotiates from a position of strength and not under deadlines.

He also accused the Congress of "negotiating and signing agreements that were not in the national interest" during the party-led UPA government's tenure.

Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, had attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the Indo-US trade deal, claiming the PM will "meekly bow" to the tariff deadline set by the President Trump administration.

"India does not negotiate under deadlines. We negotiate keeping national interest in mind, and national interest is paramount in all our engagements across the world," Goyal, Commerce and Industry minister, told reporters here.

"After the Modi government came to power, we have signed free trade agreements with Mauritius, the United Arab Emirates, Australia, and the four-nation EFTA (European Free Trade Association) grouping—Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein—and now with the UK last month."

According to him, India continues to engage with other developed nations, including the EU bloc of 27 countries, the US, Oman, Peru, and Chile.

"Today, India negotiates from a position of strength. We are self-confident and can compete with anybody in the world. This is not the weak India under Congress and the UPA, which signed agreements that were not in the national interest," he claimed.

Goyal had earlier stated that India would accept the proposed trade deal with the US only when it is fully finalised and in the national interest.

On Saturday, Rahul Gandhi had said in a post on 'X' that "Piyush Goyal can beat his chest all he wants, mark my words, Modi will meekly bow to the Trump tariff deadline."

Reacting to Gandhi's statement, he said, "Well, nobody takes Mr Rahul Gandhi seriously anymore because of the negativity that he, his party, and his colleagues are continuously spreading. The falsehood that they are spreading, I think, they have lost the plot. They have lost the confidence of the people of India, who are again and again rejecting the Congress party and their politics till today."

Hitting out at Congress, Goyal further alleged that they have not been able to come up with any positive agenda for the development of the nation. Even in Karnataka, their government has completely collapsed.

"It is a hotbed of corruption. It's a government that is fighting amongst itself every single day. I hope Mr Rahul Gandhi can control his party and his governments because he has barely only handful of governments left. The way he is going, his negativity will only lead to the people rejecting him even in the states in which he is left," he added.

The Congress has been attacking the PM for remaining silent and not countering US President Donald Trump's repeated claims of bringing a halt to hostilities between India and Pakistan after the Pahalgam terror attack.

Responding to Congress national president Mallikarjun Kharge's alleged statement calling foreign policy "faulty", Goyal alleged "the

fact that India is the fastest-growing economy in the world is disturbing to Kharge."

He further accused him of engaging in "negative politics" and said the country has rejected Congress thrice and will reject this "politics of negativity".

"They have rejected Mr Kharge in his constituency also and will once again reject the negativity of the Congress in the state of Karnataka," he said.

According to him, the success of India, the growth story of India, the huge respect that India enjoys across the world, the fact that every country in the world wants to expand business with India, wants to trade with India, and have better relations and strategic partnerships with India. The fact that India has moved from the 11th largest GDP to the fifth largest and is poised to become the third largest GDP in the world.

"The fact that we are the fastest-growing economy in the world, that we emerged from Covid successfully, and that we are well poised to become a developed, prosperous nation by 2047 disturbs Kharge and his politics of negativity," he claimed.

On Friday, Goyal had said that Free Trade Agreements are possible only when both sides benefit and involve a win-win agreement, when asked about the proposed interim trade agreement with the US.

"National interest should always be supreme. Keeping that in mind, if a deal is made, then India is always ready to deal with developed countries," he said.

Trump has set a deadline of July 9 to finalise the trade agreement with India.

When asked about Karnataka Minister Priyank Kharge's reported statement on "banning RSS", Goyal claimed "RSS is a nationalist organsition and said that he is a proud member of the RSS."

"The RSS teaches us patriotism—a level of nationalism that Priyank Kharge and his party find hard to understand. They banned the RSS, only to lift the ban later," he claimed.

"They (Congress) muzzled the press and jailed one lakh people. This happened 50 years after the Emergency was imposed by the Congress. Yet, they continue to operate with a feudal mindset. It is this very mindset that has held India back," Goyal alleged.