Overview
- Piyush Goyal, speaking Thursday after WTO talks in Cameroon, said the Oman free trade agreement will take effect on May 1 and the UK deal should enter into force within 30 to 45 days.
- He said India plans to sign a trade pact with New Zealand in late April, while teams are pushing talks with Mercosur and the Southern African Customs Union to widen preferential access.
- On the US track, Goyal said India seeks preferential market access, but a new US tariff setup after a court ruling and a temporary 10% levy have delayed the legal text and timing of the first‑phase deal.
- Goyal and China’s Wang Wentao held their first ministerial meeting in years to discuss more balanced trade, and China’s embassy later said Beijing is ready to deepen economic cooperation.
- The government is preparing extra support for exporters hit by higher shipping and insurance costs from the West Asia conflict, and Goyal said food and energy supplies in India remain stable.