Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Friday said India is vigilant and active in supporting the industry against unfair trade practices. He said that we will not allow ‘transshipment’ of goods. Goyal requested the industry to be vigilant at a program. He said, ‘We will not allow India to become a route for ‘transshipment’ by disregarding the rules of origin at any time. Under ‘transshipment’, other countries can bring their products to India, and after making some procedural changes in it, they can supply it to a third country by calling it ‘Made in India’.
Although the minister did not name any country, his statement came in the context of the statement of US Vice President JD Vance. Vance had said on Tuesday that the US wants trading partners on the basis of ‘fairness’ and the concerned country should not act as a ‘middleman’ for transshipping goods of other countries.
India’s largest trading partner is the US. Currently, the two countries are in talks to begin the initial phase of a trade agreement. The government has imposed a 12 per cent safeguard duty on steel imports for a period of 200 days to protect the domestic steel industry from ‘dumping’ and substandard steel imports. He urged the industry to give preference to Indian suppliers and not make ‘convenient’ imports.
Goyal said, “Whenever you see Indian supply, you will give priority to Indian supply to meet your needs and will not import anything harmful to Indian companies or manufacturers.” He said, “This is like a warning. You now need protection from dumping or poor-quality imported steel at unreasonable prices. It is your duty and responsibility to help the supply chain. I hope this message reaches everyone in the country, apart from the steel industry.”
The minister further said that India wants to get greater market access for its steel sector through free trade agreements (FTAs), and India is working towards FTAs. “We are working on free trade agreements with at least 10 or 12 countries or groups of countries. This includes the EU (European Union), which is a bloc of 27 European countries. We are working with each country to see how we can get greater access to our cost efficiency and high-quality steel sector,” Goyal said.
Apart from the US and the EU, India is negotiating trade agreements with the UK, New Zealand, Peru, Chile, Oman. Negotiations with Bahrain, Qatar or the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) may reach fruition.