India’s Commerce Minister: Closing in on trade deal with the US

Dhwani Mehta FXStreet

Speaking at the US-India Business Council’s India Ideas Summit on Tuesday, India’s Commerce Ministry Piyush Goyal said that India and the US are likely to strike a trade deal soon.

Key quotes

“In the long term, I believe we have a quick trade deal which has some of the pending matters built up over the last couple of years, which we need to get out of the way quickly. We are almost there.”

“We believe we should also look at an early harvest in the form of a preferential trade agreement rather than waiting for the gains of a free trade agreement, which can take several years to conclude.”

Citing three sources with knowledge of the matter, Reuters reported, “India is seeking concessions for generic drugs it exports to the United States in return for opening its dairy markets and slashing tariffs on farm goods as the two sides seek to clinch a new trade accord.”

Market reaction

Amid broad dollar weakness and the upbeat remarks on a trade deal, USD/INR is likely to extend its recent losing streak.

The cross sits at the two-week lows near 74.50.

Author

Dhwani Mehta

FXStreet

Residing in Mumbai (India), Dhwani is a Senior Analyst and Manager of the Asian session at FXStreet. She has over 10 years of experience in analyzing and covering the global financial markets, with specialization in Forex and commodities markets.

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