Government seeks comparative advantage in US trade deal

NEW DELHI: As US Trade Representative Jaimeson Greer touches down in the Capital for negotiations, commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal Monday said that India will seek a comparative advantage in the trade deal.“We are trying to work out with the US how we can get a comparative advantage so that our exporters, MSMEs, processed food, engineering goods can benefit. India today is moving up the value chain… all the trade deals we have done and the ones that are in the pipeline will help us open greater opportunities for our exporters and we will have competition for products that we need to import,” the minister said at an event organised by Republic TV.The minister said India is looking at two-way benefit and underlined that any deal has to benefit both sides. Goyal and Greer are due to meet over the next couple to days to give “finishing touches” to the agreement, although the final tariff can only be worked out after the two section 301 probes by USTR are completed.“We have gone through the negotiations over last one year. By and large things are sorted out. We had announced the first tranche of the bilateral trade agreement earlier this year… Supreme Court of US changed rules of game. Entire trade deal had to be reworked. An agreement where you are opening trade between two countries for greater growth, rapid expansion and more opportunities is about getting preferential treatment over your competition.”