India will never compromise on interests of the nation and its farmers: Piyush on Trump tariff pressure

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Thursday firmly said that India will not compromise on the interests of its farmers, fishermen, MSMEs, or religious communities, even amid mounting pressure from the United States over trade tariffs under the Trump administration.

 In an exclusive interview with Network 18 Group Editor-in-Chief Rahul Joshi, Goyal reaffirmed India’s commitment to protecting its domestic priorities while pursuing a fair and balanced trade relationship.

“India will never compromise on the interests of our farmers, fishermen, MSMEs or religious communities,” Goyal said.

“Our goal is to work towards a long-term, mutually beneficial trade agreement,” he added.

Addressing concerns about the potential impact of US tariffs on India’s economy, Goyal downplayed the risks, noting that India’s economy is primarily domestic in nature.

“India is predominantly a domestic country, and exports are a relatively small part of our overall GDP,” he said. “So the Indian economy is a very complex economy and therefore I do not think that the impact on the GDP will be significant.”

Urging citizens to support homegrown products, Goyal made a renewed appeal for economic nationalism.

“Whatever may have happened in the past is fine, at least in the future. Let’s all go for Swadesh,” he said.

“I appeal to all Indians to commit themselves to buying ‘Swadeshi’ and ‘Made in India’ products,” he added.