India poised to convert current market fluctuations into an opportunity: Piyush Goyal

New Delhi, April 7 (IANS) Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Monday that India is well poised to convert the current market fluctuations into an opportunity, against the backdrop of the reciprocal tariffs imposed by the US.

In his address at the 'India Global Forum' here, the minister said that Indian industries need to keep nationalism at the core of their work, and look to convert the current set of challenges into "opportunity".

"Unless we bring in the balance of honest values, we will see the world have more instability," he said.

On the Chinese growth story, Goyal said that the foundation of China's growth was fuelled by unfair trade practices.

"The focus is to bring back fair play, pricing of goods and services at an honest value. Unless we bring this balance, the world will be in more turbulence," he added.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump are "very good friends", the minister stated, stressing the early conclusion of the US-India bilateral trade agreement (BTA).

Meanwhile, India and the US on Monday said that they both wanted an "early conclusion" of a bilateral trade agreement.

The two countries have accelerated talks on the agreement in the run-up to and following US President Donald Trump's announcement of a reciprocal tariff of 26 per cent on goods from India, along with a broader levy of varying degrees that covers nearly all of America's trading partner countries.

"Exchanged perspectives on the Indo-Pacific, the Indian Subcontinent, Europe, Middle East/West Asia and the Caribbean," External Affairs Minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar wrote in a post on X after a phone call with his American counterpart, Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

"Agreed on the importance of the early conclusion of the Bilateral Trade Agreement," he went on to write in the post, adding, "look forward to remaining in touch”.

On April 2, Trump imposed a 27 per cent tariff on Indian imports.

--IANS

na/vd