Need to look beyond protectionism in trade talks, embrace competition, Piyush Goyal tells India Inc

Commerce minister Piyush Goyal today urged the India Inc that there is a need to look beyond protectionism in bilateral trade agreements and embrace competition. Addressing FICCI’s 98th Annual General Meeting, Goyal said there is a need for mindset change and the government is supporting innovation, deep tech, and start ups.

Referring to the India-EFTA and India – UK trade agreements signed recently, Goyal said India could probably done these deals years ago.  “But the fixation to protect the auto industry, and wines and spirits held us back. We were protecting a mindset which was not futuristic in thinking. It was very backward,” Goyal said.  

“Competition always brings more efficiency and more choice for the consumers. Competition helps us look at our competitive advantages and move forward for the good of the nation,” he added.  

Goyal pointed out that the four-member EFTA block has committed investments of $100 billion in FTA with India and India will begin trade talks with Canada from next week. “This (investment from EFTA) will largely go towards innovation and manufacturing. That innovation will happen at a fifth of the cost elsewhere,” said Goyal.  

“We also need a mindset change. We need to get out of the old culture of getting stuck to a thought process thirty years behind our time. No nation has become a developed economy without significant investment in R&D. Government is supporting startups, deep tech and innovation in the economy,” he said.  

Goyal said challenges will come and go and even in the face of covid, the Indian economy came out “honourably”. “Focus on Swadeshi, led by Mahatma Gandhi, brought the country together during the freedom struggle. Prime Minister Narendra Modi brought the vision of self-reliance to the centre of our economic progress and thinking.  Atmanirbhar Bharat today has become a collective mission for us Indians now,” he said.

“Former PM Atal Behari Vajpayee took GDP growth to 8.4% in 2004 from 4% in 1998. Challenges will come and go. Covid did not deter India. We faced severe stress but came out honourably. We have grown ever since as the fastest growing large economy. PM Modi has changed this old saying that good economics does not make for good politics. He has proven that good economics can make for good politics also,” Goyal said.

Goyal said India has several advantages. “We are most cost competitive. Our young demographic dividend provides strengths for large scale innovation,” he added.  

Bilateral trade talks

Goyal told the industry body that a slew of trade talks is currently underway. “At this point of time we are in talks with 14 groups of countries collectively representing around 50 countries of the world. Our focus is on countries of significance where we complement each other,” Goyal said.  

“We are talking to Oman while Bahrain and Qatar want to enter into negotiations with India along with the GCC countries. We are also talking to New Zealand, simultaneously with Australia on second stage agreement,” he added.