Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Friday expressed strong displeasure over what he termed as the “weakness” of sections of Indian industry, accusing them of resisting even small levels of import competition despite demanding greater access to global markets.
Speaking at an industry event, Goyal said he was disheartened by the reaction of certain domestic manufacturers during trade negotiations whenever small import quotas are proposed.
“It’s another matter that your industry sometimes demonstrates so much weakness that even giving you a minor quota of one or two, three per cent of our consumption in India, you’ll make a big fuss and you will cry about it. And I feel very disappointed when that happens,” he said.
The minister said such responses reflect poorly on India’s industrial capabilities. “It shows you in very poor light, it shows weakness. When I try to understand how two or three per cent imports hurt 100 per cent of your domestic market demand or pricing, I’m given very ridiculous responses,” he added.
Goyal made the remarks in the context of ongoing negotiations for Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with major economies, including the United States and the European Union. He said that while Indian businesses are keen on penetrating foreign markets, they must also be willing to accept calibrated competition from abroad.
“Ultimately, when we have to do FTAs, we will need support from all sectors. It cannot be that we want open markets everywhere but our industry is left out when you open up the Indian market. That can’t work,” he asserted.
Backing Goyal’s comments, Harsh Goenka, Chairman of RPG Enterprises, posted on X (formerly Twitter), “Our Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal is absolutely right. We can’t demand open access to global markets while hiding behind tariff walls at home. Competitiveness comes from exposure and courage, not protection. Time for Indian industry to drop the crutches and start running.” |
