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14:20 Oct 24, 2025
India will not accept limits on its trading choices or rush to sign agreements, Trade Minister Piyush Goyal said on Friday, even as a senior government official said a bilateral trade deal with Washington was “very near”. “India will not sign any trade deal in a hurry,” Goyal said during a speech at the Berlin Global Dialogue, referring to European Union and the US concerns over India’s continued purchases of Russian oil. Alongside ongoing EU free trade pact negotiations, India is in trade talks with the United States, which has imposed 50 per cent tariffs on Indian exports. US President Donald Trump said this week he spoke with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi mainly about trade, and that Modi had assured him India would limit its oil purchases from Russia. Goyal said New Delhi would take a measured approach. An official aware of the ongoing trade talks with the US told reporters in New Delhi that the two countries are sorting out the language of their agreement. “We are very near as far as deal is concer...