New Delhi, February 23 Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Monday that it is too early to comment on the tariff changes announced by the United States, and the Commerce Ministry is reviewing the situation.
On Friday, the US Supreme Court ruled against the sweeping import tariffs imposed by the Trump administration on trade partners.
Following the ruling, President Donald Trump imposed a 10 per cent tariff on all countries, including India, for 150 days from February 24. Later on Saturday, Trump announced raising these tariffs to 15 per cent.
Asked about the impact of tariff changes on the Indian economy, Sitharaman said it is "a bit too soon" to comment.
"However, regarding trade, particularly, aside from the Indian economy in general, the commerce ministry is reviewing the situation. The delegation will need to make a decision on when they will proceed with further negotiations. Therefore, it is too early for me (to comment)," Sitharaman said.
On Sunday, India and the US decided to reschedule the proposed meeting of their chief negotiators, scheduled to be held in Washington from Monday, to finalise the text for the interim trade pact, according to sources.
Joint Secretary in the Commerce Ministry, Darpan Jain, is the chief negotiator of India for this agreement.
Speaking to reporters after addressing the RBI's Central Board here, Sitharaman said India has been on a clear path of wanting to have trade deals and has already inked pacts with Australia, New Zealand, the UAE, Qatar, Oman, the EU and the UK.
"Therefore, our attempt to have a trade agreement will continue with countries," she said, adding that India wants the economy to have the advantage of trading globally and being able to reach global markets.
Speaking on the issue, RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra said, "The government now has a number of agreements for international trade that it has signed. So, that will further help our current account going forward".
Even on the capital side, he said, it will help because trade and investments generally go together.
In addition to that, a number of policies that the government has come out with on the FDI side, the latest being opening up 100 per cent of the insurance sector and commitment towards data centres, would help boost investment, he said.
"We have sufficient reserves. So, the external side is very strong, including the rest of the macroeconomic sector is very strong," he said.
With regard to setting up the National Financial Information Registry (NFIR), Malhotra said, "We have had multiple rounds of discussions with the government and with all the stakeholders, and most of the contours and the framework of the NFIR have been finalised. We are giving final touches in the RBI".
After having done that, he said, the RBI will send its proposals, comments, and suggestions to the government.
