India is signing trade agreements at a breakneck pace, the most recent being with the UK. However, due to intense discussions on both sides, the much-anticipated agreement with the US has not yet been finalized.
Despite some hope expressed by US President Donald Trump and India, there is still no trade agreement with the US, according to a Newsweek report.
“We wish to engage with the world, including the West, on equal terms,” according to a report quoting Sanjeev Sanyal, a member of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Economic Advisory Council (EAC).
“We are aware of the interests of Western nations, but we also have our own. We will therefore advocate for our interests. “This does not imply that we will not participate or make fair compromises,” he told the newspaper.
“The Trump administration would be wise to make concessions for India in the interest of the larger strategic partnership,” said Lisa Curtis, director of the Centre for a New American Security.
“India’s successful trade deal with the UK demonstrates that it has global trading options and that it is not desperate enough for a trade deal with the United States to open up its agricultural sector,” Curtis was reported to have stated.
In the meantime, India has lifted a five-year ban on granting Chinese nationals tourist visas.
During a meeting with his Indian counterpart S. Jaishankar this month, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi stated that “China and India should adhere to the direction of good neighborliness and friendship.”
The article, which cited geopolitical analysts, claims that these actions demonstrate India’s growing influence as a swing power on the world stage.
As much as it is about goods and services, the historic India-UK free trade agreement is also about geopolitics.
The paper states that the discussions “started in May 2022, took three years, and involved tough domestic balancing acts, protecting farmers, small businesses, and service sectors on both sides” and that the agreement was not “rushed.”
UK opposition Conservative MP Bob Blackman told Newsweek that this pact is more than just commerce and that it represents a change in the way both countries view partnership and power.
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