Union commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal on Saturday said the European Union’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) is likely to harm European industries more than its intended targets, including India. “There is a lot of opposition to CBAM in the EU also. EU’s infrastructure will become costlier. EU’s housing will become costlier. EU’s cost of manufacturing will become costlier, which will hurt their international trade,” Goyal said at a press conference. As per news agency ANI, he added that this could actually create more export opportunities for India due to its competitive manufacturing base.Goyal also noted the growing discontent against CBAM among European business leaders. “When I go to different countries in Europe and I criticise CBAM, all the industry players, CEOs of very large companies, come up to me and thank me. They say you speak like you are our minister,” he said.Emphasising Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s principle of converting challenges into opportunities, Goyal assured that India is fully capable of responding if export interests are harmed. “We are a sovereign and very powerful nation today, so if anybody hurts our export interest, we will react and retaliate or rebalance,” he said.Goyal also confirmed that the India-UK Free Trade Agreement (FTA), signed on Thursday during PM Modi’s visit to London, has made strong progress across sensitive areas like gender, environment and intellectual property. “We have protected all the sensitive sectors of India vis-à-vis the UK… Dairy, rice and sugar, we have not opened for the United Kingdom,” he said.He added that the FTA ensures 99% preferential or zero-duty access for Indian exports to the UK, making it a “phenomenal” deal that offers both stability and new investment opportunities. “It will not only support export of goods and services, but will also bring a stable, predictable and secure framework in which India can become a trusted partner for the UK’s supply chains,” he said.The agreement is part of India’s broader goal to double bilateral trade with the UK to $120 billion by 2030. As per news agency PTI, India has also secured an understanding through diplomatic communication (note verbale) to safeguard its interests in case the UK implements a carbon tax in the future. If such a tax affects India’s trade benefits under the FTA, the country will retain the right to take countermeasures, including withdrawing concessions.
