London, Jun 25 (PTI) Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Thursday said that the trade pact with the US is "very close", but it cannot come into force unless India secures a competitive tariff advantage over its competitor nations.

"The day that happens, the deal is on," he said here at the India Global Forum (IGF) UK-India Week event.

Goyal is here on a three-day official visit to discuss issues related to the implementation of the India-UK free trade agreement.

The minister held two-day talks with US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer in New Delhi this week on the first phase of the India-US bilateral trade agreement (BTA).

However, a statement by the commerce ministry gave no indication that all differences were resolved ahead of the expiry of 10 per cent temporary tariff on July 24.

A free trade agreement is fundamentally aimed at providing a comparative advantage over competitor countries in terms of market access, he said.

"And until the framework of getting that competitive advantage can be finalised, we can't enter into force a US deal. I don't think I can be more transparent than that...So that's broadly the discussions (between India and the US) on how the US will find the appropriate tools and legal backing to give us that competitive advantage over our competitors," he added.

When the framework of the first phase of the BTA was finalised, India had a comparative advantage over its competitor countries, such as ASEAN nations (Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Philippines, Brunei, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar, Cambodia), Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Bangladesh.

Under the framework, the US had announced an 18 per cent tariff on Indian goods. At that time, tariffs on India's competing countries ranged from 19 to 20 per cent. But now, all countries face the same 10 per cent additional levy.

The minister added that the framework or contours of the agreement with the US was finalised and announced on February 6 this year and both the teams are working since then to finalise the fineprint.

"There is always a little give and take (in an agreement)," he said, adding, "We are very close" to the deal.

Suggesting that the India-United States trade deal was 99 per cent complete, US Ambassador Sergio Gor, on June 3 in Mumbai, said that both sides were trying to resolve the remaining "1 per cent" sticking points and expected the long-awaited pact to be inked within the next several weeks.

Goyal pointed out that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) tariffs were in place when India finalised the pact with America.

The deal was negotiated to bring 50 per cent tariffs on India to 18 per cent.

Now the current negotiations are taking place against the backdrop of US President Donald Trump's temporary 10 per cent tariff regime, which is set to expire in a month.

"The whole deal was centred around that competitive advantage that we got with 18 per cent over our neighbours and competing countries. So we were lower than all our neighbouring countries, lower than all Asean countries other than Singapore, that is why the deal was attractive for us," he said.

"With the US Supreme Court striking down Trump's sweeping tariffs and now with the additional temporary levy getting expired on July 24, "we obviously have to have some reason to be able to enter into force that agreement that we have already agreed upon," Goyal said.

The minister said the focus now is on ensuring that India secures a competitive tariff advantage over what is being paid by countries (Vietnam, Thailand, Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, China, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka) in the same stage of development or with the same cost structure as India has. PTI AK RR RR MR

Competitive tariff advantage drives India-US trade pact as final terms await market-access alignment. Competitive tariff advantage is identified as the central condition for the India-US bilateral trade agreement to enter into force. The pact is close to completion, but its implementation depends on India securing tariff treatment that preserves a market-access advantage over competing economies. The discussions are focused on the legal and commercial framework needed to provide that advantage and on finalising the remaining fine print of the agreement.