"We never negotiate at gunpoint," Piyush Goyal on 90-day pause in US Tariffs on India

New Delhi [India], April 11 (ANI): After US President Donald Trump hit the pause button on India's tariffs, Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said that India will not be in a hurry and will negotiate what is in the interest of its people.
Speaking on the sidelines of the Italy-India Business, Science and Technology Forum, Union Minister Piyush Goyal said, "Trade talks proceed when both sides are sensitive to each other's concerns and requirements. All our trade talks are progressing well, in the spirit of India First, and to ensure our pathway to Viksit Bharat @ 2047 in the Amrit Kaal..."
"We never negotiate at gunpoint. Favourable time constraints motivate us for quicker talks, but till the time we are not able to secure the interest of our country and our people, we do not hurry," he added.
Earlier, speaking at the Carnegie Global Technology Summit, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said that India is prepared for a high degree of urgency in reaching a trade deal with regards to the United States, a country which he said has fundamentally changed its approach to engaging with the world and it has consequences across every domain.
Jaishankar said that India's trade deals are very challenging as the US is very ambitious, and the global landscape is very different from what it was a year ago.
"This time around, we are certainly geared up for a very high degree of urgency. I mean, we see a window. We want to see stuff. So our trade deals are really challenging. And we are really, when I look at the trade deals, I mean it's not my direct credit, but we have a lot to do with each other. I mean, these are people very much on top of their game, very ambitious about what they want to achieve," he said.
Jaishankar added that just as the US has a view of India, India too has a view of them. "We talked for four years during the first Trump administration. They have their view of us, and frankly, we have our view of them. The bottom line is that they didn't get that. So if you look at the EU, often people say we've been negotiating for 30 years, which is not entirely true because we had big blocks of time and nobody was even talking to each other. But they have tended to be very protracted processes," he said.
Jaishankar said that trade and technology influence US-China trade dynamics, and China's decisions are as consequential as those of the US.
Meanwhile, China on Friday hit back at the latest US tariffs by imposing 125 per cent tariffs on imports of all US goods. Chinese official Xinhua agency cited the Customs Tariff Commission of the State Council to state that it will lift the additional tariffs on products imported from the US to 125 per cent from 84 per cent, effective April 12.
China has also filed a lawsuit with the WTO following the latest US tariff hikes, the Chinese commerce ministry said as per a report in the official Xinhua Agency. (ANI)