Piyush Goyal Jokes At Sergio Gor-Hosted Reception: 'USA Would Have Won T20 Match Against India Had It Reduced Reciprocal Tariff To Zero'

New Delhi: Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, in a lighter conversation with US Ambassador Sergio Gor at a reception hosted by him in New Delhi, joked around the recently announced India-US trade deal and the USA cricket team losing a match against India in the ongoing T20 World Cup. Standing beside Sergio Gor, Piyush Goyal said that the USA would have won the match against India had it reduced the reciprocal tariffs to zero percent, receiving applause from the audience at the venue.Complementing that the USA has started on cricket just a few years ago, the team's performance was fabulous. In a candid conversation with Sergio Gor at the reception, Goyal said, "The US may not have won yesterday's match - against India in the T20 World Cup - but

I must say, for a country which has not known cricket and has started on cricket a few years ago, the performance was fabulous."

"Sergio was there to enjoy the match... Sergio pointed out one very important factor - the US lost the match by 18% and a very humble request I made to him as a suggestion that if only you had made the reciprocal tariff zero, you would possibly have won the match," the Union Minister said, as the guests present at the reception laughed and clapped."I was indeed amazed by the fabulous performance the US cricket team did," added Piyush Goyal candidly, at the reception hosted at the residence of US Ambassador Sergio Gor.Union External Affairs minister S Jaishankar also attended Sergio's reception at his residence in New Delhi.

India-US Announce Interim Trade Deal

India and United States last week announced the much awaited bilateral trade deal with some details coming over the past weekend. As per the interim deal, pact ensures adequate safeguards to protect the interests of India's farmers and the domestic industry from any significant increase in imports.Union Minister Piyush Goyal said that the deal will "ultimately help our farmers", who are already exporting USD 50-55 billion worth of agricultural and fish products.In another statement, Indian goods will have a competitive advantage in the American market due to the 18 per cent tariff, as competitor nations such as China face tariffs as high as 35 per cent while other countries are subject to levies of over 19 per cent.