Yes to trade deal; No to cannibal cows.

"India and the US have concluded most discussions on the proposed bilateral trade agreement and are now fine-tuning the pact, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said yesterday, signalling progress in negotiations amid continuing tariff-related uncertainties." NDTV. "Under the framework, the US was required to reduce reciprocal tariffs on India from 25% to 18%, while India had committed to reducing or eliminating tariffs on most US agricultural and industrial exports." India has to purchase US energy, technology, agricultural, coal and other products over 5 years, accept US diktat on third-country trade, meaning sanctions, and international standards on US products, wrote Abhijit Das. The last is a sly, underhand attempt at sneaking dairy products into India, produced from cows fed with "Meat meal from pigs, chickens, horses, or even dogs and cats," "Blood from pigs and horses", and "Chicken feathers, bedding material and dropping." The most disgusting practice is feeding tallow from cattle to cows. ET. Dairy from cannibal cows is truly revolting, even to think about. US is one of the very few countries that India has a trade surplus with. In 2025, India's merchandise exports to the US was $103.8 billion while imports from the US was $45.4 billion, giving a surplus of $58.4 billion. In services, we exported $47.6 billion worth and imported worth $42.9 billion, giving a surplus of $4.7 billion. ustr.gov. In financial year 2025-26, India's total (merchandise+services) exports grew 4.22% to $860.09 billion while total imports grew 6.47% to around $970 billion. Total trade deficit was almost $110 billion. ddnew.gov.in. The trade deficit with China alone rose to $99.19 billion in fiscal 2025-26 from $85 billion in 2024-25. BS. The problem is that India is seen as unfair to foreign businesses. "Foreign investors are not amused. Jamie Dimon, chair of JP Morgan has noted in several recent interviews that India's government ought to pay attention to a regulatory deficit." "Retail lobbies have long managed to keep this sector's foreign investors in a straitjacket. Licensed categories like aviation are rife with policy puzzles. Abrupt rule tweaks are common. Asset shifts have been wrapped in riddles in fields like e-commerce and infrastructure." Mint. In 2022, Amazon walked away from an auction of media rights of the Indian Premier League cricket tournament. Amazon had started with e-commerce but "almost immediately ran into the Indian flavor of protectionism. Under the nation's strict foreign investment rules, the company can't hold or control inventory." Under new CEO Andy Jassy, "Amazon has said its investment in India will surge past $35 billion by 2030, but much of that will go to data centers dedicated to artificial intelligence (AI) - not e-commerce." ET. It may seem a lot of money, but since most of the equipment will be imported, and not many jobs created, it will not be much of a gain. The Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) came into effect in July 2026. Under it, India will get "zero-duty access on nearly 99% of India's exports, covering almost 100% of the trade value." pib.gov.in. The agreement has already run into jobsworth Indian officials. Under CETA, duty on Scotch whisky is to be reduced to 75% from 150% immediately and then to 40% over the next 10 years. But revenue investigators are saying that bulk Scotch concentrates are not eligible for the lower rate of duty. TOI. We will be paying zero duty on 100% of our trade value but are not willing to honor a huge 75% duty on one product. Regarding the India Japan high- speed Shinkansen rail project, former Justice Minister of Japan Hideki Makihara said that "what stood out in international meetings and negotiations was the sheer recklessness of the Indian side...They just don't keep promises, no matter what. Even if they make a promise, they flip it right away." He said the Indian minister was "awful", DH. We need a trade agreement with the world's biggest consumer market with consumer spending at 16788.70 USD billion in the second quarter of 2026, up from 16634.20 USD billion in the first. Trading Economics. That is potentially over $64 trillion in the whole year. But we need to realize that trade cannot be a one-way street. We need to compromise on some things. But, not on cannibal cows, please. No matter what.