Piyush Goyal: FTAs two-way traffic, need to give sops too: Piyush Goyal

New Delhi: Commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal Tuesday slammed the industry at a Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) for hankering for protection that hobbles the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the United Kingdom and the European Union. The minister said FTA is a two-way traffic and reluctance to give tariff concessions may impact the proposed trade deals.At the Viksit Bharat event organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) he said domestic players seek duty concessions in FTAs, but are not ready to give market access to other countries, and the Indian industry always seeks protection.

“You want access to international markets but whichever industry you speak to says protect me. Those goods shouldn’t come to India. Then how will we do an FTA with the UK and with the EU?” he asked.

“Is this the way a FTA happens? What is the cooperation from your side?”, he asked.

He also said the industry is not concerned about how much India’s foreign exchange is being used and asked the industry about its contribution to change things, citing that industry participation in government meetings is low.

“When I appeal to you to buy goods made by Indian firms, you say you save money from importing,” Goyal said, adding that the industry does not think about India’s forex reserves as if it is the only responsibility of the government and RBI. “I think you should make up your mind,” Goyal said.He expressed sadness over lack of enthusiasm within the industry over ease of business and national single-window system initiatives of the government.