India is “actively engaging” with the new administration in the United States of America and hopes to conclude the first tranche of the bilateral trade agreement “positively” by fall this year, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said during an event in the US on Sunday. Sitharaman also said that India is being recognised globally for its potential and economic strength, urging the Indian diaspora in the US to partner with India so that both countries can grow and prosper.
“The keenness with which we are engaging with the US administration, even as I talk, I think the , he will be engaging with the Prime Minister hopefully this evening or tomorrow. In between all this, the Assistant USTR had visited India to see the progress or to engage with the negotiating team who is dealing with the tariff-related negotiation and the bilateral trade agreement that we want to sign. In fact, the progress of the agreement or the trade agreement that we are working on, at least a first tranche is something which we hope to conclude positively by the fall this year,” she said during an interaction with the Indian diaspora at a community gathering held at the India Community Centre, in San Francisco, California, on Sunday evening (Monday morning IST).
While answering a question about the , Sitharaman said: “The long and short of engaging with the US is not just for this reciprocal tariff-related matter but in the interest of keeping an agreement in mind and in the interest of our largest trading partner with whom we need to have an agreement, we are working in order that by fall this year we should at least have the first phase of the agreement signed.”.
The Union Finance Minister said India is one of the countries which is actively engaging with the US. “Equally the priority that we gave to engage with the government here is more than obviously seen with Prime Minister () himself visiting the United States in February. You have had the Commerce Minister come. I have come here because I also have the IMF and World Bank meeting but I am scheduled to meet the Treasury Secretary, my counterpart here,” she said.
Sitharaman is on an official visit to the US and will be visiting San Francisco and Washington D.C. from April 20-25. She will participate in the spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank and hold bilateral meetings with her counterparts from several countries including Argentina, Bahrain, Germany, France, Luxembourg, Saudi Arabia, UK, and USA.
During the interaction, Sitharaman noted that India is among the countries that can pull the global growth engine amid the uncertainties. “When we say that India is the fastest-growing economy and when the IMF or the World Bank recognise that India because of the growth potential…India, China, many other such countries, can be the engine to pull the world trade which is in the negative or just about positive zone, they recognise the potential that exists in India”
“And by growing with that potential, we will probably be able to lift that trend which is seen globally because of the various uncertainties, keeping growth low, keeping trade low, but keeping high in some places. And as a result in some other places, people think: is there going to be a recession? But in this environment, India is recognised for its potential, the economic strength it has,” she said.
She urged the Indians living in the US to partner with India, individually or commercially, corporation to corporation. “…you benefit, the United States of America benefits, India benefits, Indian businesses benefit and together we are going to have to lift global trade and growth. I think that’s a very big contribution the Indian diaspora here can do…I appeal to you to take more interest and partner with India in the areas that you choose and help our two countries to grow and prosper,” she said.
Sitharaman pointed out how India has worked on reducing its fiscal deficit. “It was during Covid when because of the lockdown, the deficit actually rocketed up and even immediately after that, we came up in 2021 with a clear signal as to how we want to manage our deficit. We gave ourselves year-by-year target and said by the year 2026, our fiscal deficit will come well below 4.5 per cent. And that is exactly what we have been following without fail each year…the glide path that was given is being very sincerely followed,” she said.
She also underlined the decline in India’s debt-to-GDP ratio in recent years after it had risen during the pandemic. “Immediately after Covid, our debt position was such that we went over 62 per cent to the GDP. Now within four years we have brought that down to 57.4 per cent of the GDP. So within four years you see clear steps being taken to bring the debt-to-GDP number to acceptable levels and in the July we have very clearly said that by 2030, the debt-to-GDP will come closer to 50 per cent…whilst even well developed countries have over a 100 per cent debt (to GDP ratio) and that’s how we are managing ours,” she said.
