India's commerce minister talks up trade deal reached with US скачать в хорошем качестве

India's commerce minister talks up trade deal reached with US

(3 Feb 2026) RESTRICTION SUMMARY: ASSOCIATED PRESS New Delhi - 3 February 2026 1. SOUNDBITE (Hindi) Piyush Goyal, Indian Minister of Commerce and Industry:  “The trade deal that has been finalized with the USA is the best deal India has got among all our neighbors, all the neighboring countries, all the countries that compete with us. We have all received it, you have all received it. This brings auspicious signs for the bright future of our countrymen.”  ++WHITE FLASH++ 2. SOUNDBITE (English) Piyush Goyal, Indian Minister of Commerce and Industry:  "I can assure 140 crore (1.4 billion) brothers and sisters that this is a deal that will make every Indian proud, that will protect the interests of every Indian and provide huge opportunities for all the people of India and will protect the sensitive sectors, the interests of our agriculture and our dairy sectors in full respect, opening up huge opportunities for our labor-intensive sectors.” ++WHITE FLASH++ 3. SOUNDBITE (Hindi) Piyush Goyal, Indian Minister of Commerce and Industry:  “And going forward may the relationship between India and America become stronger.”  ++ENDS ON A SOUNDBITE++ STORYLINE: Indian lawmakers from the ruling coalition praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday for striking a deal with the U.S. that seeks to reduce tariffs on Indian goods, while the opposition raised questions on the impact on sensitive sectors such as agriculture. Indian Minister of Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal said Tuesday that sensitive sectors such as agriculture and dairy had been protected in the deal. “The trade deal that has been finalized with the United States of America is the best deal India has got among all our neighbors, all the neighboring countries, all the countries that compete with us," Goyal said. "This brings auspicious signs for the bright future of our countrymen,” he added.  President Donald Trump on Monday announced he plans to reduce import tariff on India, six months after imposing steep taxes to punish New Delhi for its unabated purchase of Russian oil that he claimed helped fuel Moscow’s war machine against Ukraine. In a social media post, Trump said Modi has agreed to stop purchasing Russian oil, though the Indian government remained tight-lipped if this was the case. Trump said he would bring down the tariffs from 25% to 18% in return for India agreeing to stop Russian crude purchases. New Delhi will also start to reduce its import taxes on U.S. goods to zero and buy $500 billion worth of American products, Trump said.  “This will help END THE WAR in Ukraine, which is taking place right now, with thousands of people dying each and every week!” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post Monday.  Modi posted on X that he was “delighted” by the announced tariff reduction and that Trump’s “leadership is vital for global peace, stability, and prosperity.” There has been no word beyond this from the Indian side on the scale and scope of the trade deal. Trump didn’t categorically mention if he will remove the additional 25% tariff on India for purchase of Russian crude, but a spokesman at the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi late Monday confirmed that “the final tariff will be 18%.” This effectively means that the penal tariff will be dropped, in a respite for Indian exporters who had been facing the heat due to a combined steep tariff as high as 50%. India emerged as the second-largest buyer of discounted Urals, upsetting Washington. Opposition political parties are demanding Modi come clear on the trade deal as it will impact sensitive sectors such as agriculture. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...