Wines & cosmetics: What Piyush Goyal said on India’s zero tariffs on US products; check list
Representative image (AI-generated)
Centre on Saturday announced the list of American goods on which India has decided to provide duty concessions under the agreed India-US interim trade deal.Addressing a press conference, union commerce minister Piyush Goyal said, “We have opened our markets for the US on some products like Distiller’s Dried Grains with Solubles (DDGS), wines & spirits in which we have kept a minimum import price also.”
Goyal detailed that India will provide duty concessions on a range of American goods, while sensitive agricultural and dairy products remain fully protected. He emphasized that quota-based duty concessions will be granted in soyabean oil to the US. The concessions include:
- Alcoholic beverages: Wines and spirits
- Dried distillers’ grains (DDGS)
- Red sorghum for animal feed
- Tree nuts
- Soybean oil
- Fresh and processed fruit
- Cosmetics
- Inorganic and organic chemicals
- Certain medical devices
- Computer-related products
What Piyush Goyal said on protecting ‘sensitive sectors’?
The minister reassured that the sensitive sectors in agriculture and dairy are fully protected. Products like milk, cheese, wheat, rice, maize, soy, poultry, ethanol (fuel), tobacco, certain vegetables and meat will not receive any duty concessions.“All those products on which we are ‘aatma nirbhar’ have been kept out of the agreement,” Goyal said, referring to India’s self-reliant and strategic sectors.
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Goyal highlighted that the agreement will benefit farmers, MSMEs, artisans and craftsmen and support the “Make in India” push.His statement comes after India and the US issued a joint statement on the trade agreement which is expected to be signed in the coming days.“The 50% reciprocal tariff has been reduced to 18% which is less compared to our neighboring countries, and will provide a lot of help to our exporters. The deal brings new hopes and opportunities in India’s growth story,” Goyal said.“Agricultural products from Indian farmers will be exported to the United States at zero duty. At the same time, no tariff concessions have been granted for agricultural products from US farmers entering the Indian market,” Goyal said.The minister concluded that the framework, finalized after discussions between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump, will provide new opportunities for Indian exporters and strengthen bilateral trade relations.
