Let me state at the very outset that anyone who thinks exports are always good but imports are bad does not understand trade policies. There has been a lot of noise and commotion in Parliament over the India-US trade deal. The opposition parties, led by the Leader of Opposition, feel that the deal is a total surrender. But the government benches projected it as the best deal under the given circumstances. The truth may be somewhere in between. There is always give-and-take in any trade deal. This one is no different.

India had to give in to the US demand that it buy more energy, aircraft, and high-tech equipment. We had to agree to show our “intent” or “commitment” to buy $500 billion worth of goods from the US over the next five years. That looks huge as our current goods imports from the US are well under $50 billion a year. But in return, India got the US to slash its import tariffs on Indian goods to 18 per cent, which is very much in line with our competitors in South and Southeast Asia, and almost half of what is being imposed on China. This, the government says, is the biggest victory and opens doors for significantly higher exports from India to the largest economy in the world — the US.

There are also strong apprehensions expressed by opposition parties as well as by some farmer groups on the agricultural segment of the deal. Let me dwell on that and try to remove some misgivings, although I know that those who are bent to oppose........

© Indian Express