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Allying fears of US tariffs adversely affecting India days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi met President Donald Trump in Washington, DC, Union Minister Piyush Goyal has said that there is no better negotiator than the PM and the two countries have a relationship of trusted partners, which will only improve as time goes by.
Speaking at the News Agency Profit Conclave on Tuesday, the minister for commerce and industry asked Indian companies to be bold, confident and look at the current situation as a golden opportunity to expand business. "Those who are panicking today will regret tomorrow," he asserted.
"I think there can be no better negotiator than the Prime Minister. In fact, as one of the foreign newspapers mentioned, one can take a masterclass from Prime Minister Modi in negotiation. He was amongst the first international leaders of a large country to be invited to the White House, just about 20 days into the new administration. He also shares a very strong relationship with President Trump, and that relationship has only grown bigger and better," Mr Goyal said.
Pointing out that both PM Modi and Trump are leaders with a nationalist outlook, Mr Goyal repeated the Prime Minister's "MAGA + MIGA = MEGA" equation that he had outlined during his US visit.
"When the American president talks about Making America Great Again (MAGA), and when the Prime Minister Modi talks about Viksit Bharat (developed India), in a way he's talking about Making India Great Again (MIGA). And that's why he termed it a mega partnership for prosperity. MAGA + MIGA equalling a MEGA partnership," he said.
The minister said India and the US don't compete with each other as much as they complement each other and that the relationship between the two countries is one that is between two trusted partners based on the bedrock of two powerful democracies.
"We collaborate for world and human good. And I personally think that we will have a good and even better relationship with the US... The bottom line is that this is an opportunity for India to expand trade with the US. In fact, we have set a very ambitious target of $500 billion by 2030. And we look at this opportunity as a way to make India more competitive, come out with quality products, look at mutual concessions and attractive trading conditions, which will support growth, both in America and in India, for the shared prosperity of the people of both countries," he emphasised.
'Believe In India Growth Story'
Asked about his message to Indian industry and Indian investors, the minister said they would be "better advised" to be bold and believe in the India growth story. He said Indian companies should have the confidence that India is competitive in the products that it makes and that they have a "listening government" with a "leader who cares for every person in India, whether (it is a) manufacturer, service provider, (or a) person in a small or big industry".
"And, therefore, I don't think there is any cause for concern. My feeling is we should enter into this negotiation from a position of strength (and) boldly be willing to compete with the US. Can there be any product where we cannot compete with an economy where the per capita income is $80,000 per person? We are at $3,000 per person. If there's any product where we can't compete with the United States, with such a large differential on the labour costs..." Mr Goyal said.
"So I think Indian industry is better advised to be bold, to be confident. We can assure them that this is a golden opportunity to expand business. It will open up a floodgate of new business opportunities. And my sense is those who are panicking today will regret tomorrow," he added.
'Similar Problems'
Mr Goyal said India's biggest concern has been the non-market economies - economies which do not have transparent trading systems do not give equal access to India while trading. This has led to India resorting to higher tariffs to protect domestic industry.
The American problem, he said, is reverse but very similar. "They have lower tariffs, but because of which these non-market economies are flooding the market with a lot of goods, which hurt domestic manufacturing. So, in a way, the problem of America is the same as the problem of India. And what we are working on is for mutual benefit, resolving these issues for both our countries, for businesses in both our countries," he said.
"Our situation with America is pretty different than many other countries and, therefore, as I said earlier, we complement each other. We can give mutual concessions to each other, (put in place) tariff reductions, make it easier to import and export between the countries. We have already taken a significant number of measures to strengthen the US-India relationship. We have strategic, bilateral and multilateral engagements. We have defence ties. We have strong ties in education and people-to-people ties. So, together, we are working on several initiatives," he pointed out.
Roadmap For Viksit Bharat
The minister said that, in the first 10 years in power at the Centre, Prime Minister Modi's focus was on making sure that every Indian is assured of good quality housing, food, education, healthcare, electricity and cooking gas connections, digital connectivity and access to roads, railways and air connectivity.
"Generations would pass with people still struggling to build a home of their own. Prime Minister Modi, in 10 years, through his laser focus on public welfare and development, has taken 140 crore lives to a better quality of life... He has ensured everybody has a bank account of their own... Basic needs of life are all being taken care of," the minister said.
India's average age is only 28.4 years, he said, pointing out that every young person is now connected to the internet and aspiring for a better quality of life.
"And given India's purchasing power parity, the fact that our costs are lower, our living standards are better at lower cost, we are in a situation that as the economy grows from about 4 trillion to 30, 35 trillion by 2047, we will have a per capita income of over $20,000. And that will make sure that every citizen of this country has a good quality of life with a good job or a good business... The opportunities in the next 20-25 years are going to be massive in every field," he said.
Mr Goyal said that with investment-led growth and consumption-led growth backed by reforms, he foresees a rapid transformation of the Indian economy.
"A life which is comfortable, a life which is satisfying, which is taking care of your material needs and taking care of your altruistic needs - that will be the true definition of Viksit Bharat. If you recall, (BJP ideologue) Deen Dayal Upadhyay had explained it as integral humanism... The entire human requirements, spiritual, material, cultural, all of them put together, the quotient of happiness, everything makes for a good satisfied life and Viksit Bharat 2047," he said.