India should fast-track FTA talks, deepen trade ties with the US: EAC-PM Chairman

India should accelerate free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations and deepen trade talks with the United States to secure a Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA), Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM) Chairman S. Mahendra Dev said on Friday.

Speaking at the First ISID@40 Distinguished Person Lecture , Dev stressed that India must diversify its export markets and strengthen global trade ties amid rising protectionist trends. “India’s trade policy for manufacturing should be to diversify exports to other countries in Asia, Latin America, Africa, and some developed nations, fasten FTAs, and continue dialogue with the US,” he said.

Dev’s comments come at a crucial time when trade relations between India and the US face strains. Washington recently imposed 25% tariffs on Indian goods, in addition to reciprocal duties already in place, effectively doubling import levies to 50%. The move followed India’s continued purchase of crude oil from Russia, despite US sanctions on Russian oil majors Rosneft and Lukoil. New Delhi has described the US tariffs as “unfair and unjustified.”

Calling for a “rule-based global trading order,” Dev noted that a functioning World Trade Organization (WTO) is always preferable to protectionist measures. He underscored that no major emerging economy has sustained 7–8% growth without robust export performance, and India must focus on strengthening its manufacturing base to drive exports.

“India must develop many more medium-sized manufacturing firms employing 200–500 workers,” Dev said, pointing out that the predominance of micro enterprises with fewer than ten employees remains a major challenge for scaling up industrial output.

Highlighting India’s economic potential, Dev said the country’s share in global GDP, which stood at around 25% in 1700 AD, could return to that level by 2043 if current reforms and investments continue. He noted that post-liberalization India has averaged a growth rate of 6–6.5% annually and now needs to push its investment rate from 31–32% to around 34–35% to achieve sustainable 7% growth.

He further urged the private sector to boost domestic investments, noting that “there is no twin balance sheet problem now.” With rising government capital expenditure, he added, the multiplier effects are visible across the economy.

“India has emerged from the shocks of the past decade,” Dev said, recalling that the country was once listed among the “Fragile Five” economies in 2013. “Today, India stands resilient as the fastest-growing major economy in the world.”