New Delhi: Facing questions on whether India has committed to stopping direct or indirect imports of importing Russian, as stated in an executive order issued by US President Donald Trump, Union industries and commerce minister Piyush Goyal on Saturday (February 7) said that the answer lies with the Union Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). Goyal also said that the India-US Trade agreement would not include any items that would hurt Indian farmers, and no “concession” has been made in India’s dairy sector.Addressing his first press conference after the United States-India Joint Statement was released on Saturday, Goyal did not provide any answers on the White House executive order, which said if India “resumes” buying Russian oil, US would reimpose a 25% tariff.Responding to at least two questions on whether India has made such a commitment as stated in the White House executive order, Goyal said, “The MEA will be able to give this information.”Also read: Modi’s Deal With Trump: Submission Sold as High StrategyDuring the weekly media briefing on Thursday (February 5), when asked if India would stop buying Russian oil, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal mentioned, “Insofar as India’s energy sourcing is concerned, the government has stated publicly on several occasions that ensuring the energy security of 1.4 billion Indians is the supreme priority of the government. Diversifying our energy sourcing in keeping with objective market conditions and evolving international dynamics is at the core of our strategy to ensure this. All of India’s actions are taken and will be taken with this in mind.”The executive order issued by Trump on the other hand has stated that the US government received “additional information and recommendations from senior officials regarding India’s efforts” to address the ongoing national emergency related to Russia’s actions in Ukraine. The document notes that US officials were told India has agreed not only to cease all Russian-origin oil imports but also to shift part of its energy purchases toward US suppliers.The joint statement said that India and the US have reached a framework for an interim trade agreement under which tariffs on India will be cut to 18%. India will reduce or remove tariffs on all American industrial goods and a broad range of US agricultural and food products, including dried distillers’ grains, red sorghum for animal feed, tree nuts, fresh and processed fruit, soybean oil, wine and spirits, among others.Responding to the opposition parties’ criticism that the agreement had compromised India’s agriculture and dairy sectors, Goyal said that no such concessions have been made.“The opposition is hapless. Even the country does not believe its efforts to mislead and spread lies. I reiterate that in India’s dairy sector, there has been no compromise of any kind, and no concessions have been made in any way, nothing has been opened,” Goyal mentioned. The minister added: “In India’s critical agriculture sector, there has been no compromise on production of meat, poultry, dairy, GM food products, soyabean, maize, cereals, millets, jawar, bajra, raagi, fruits like bananas, strawberries, cherries, citrus fruits, green peas, moong, oil seeds, some animal seed products, ground nut, honey, non-alcoholic beverages, flour, starch, some essential oils, ethanol and tobacco. India’s farmers will celebrate today and are wholly satisfied.”Goyal also listed a number of other sectors under which duties on exports to the US will be reduced from 50% to 0% including gems and diamonds, pharmaceutical products, aircraft parts, machinery parts, generic drugs, pharma products, some auto parts, gems and diamonds, platinum, clocks and watches, essential oils, home decor items such as chandeliers, lamp parts, some inorganic chemicals, some paper, plastic, and wood items, among others. “The thing to celebrate – and is being talked about across the country – is how many farm goods will now enjoy zero duty in America, helping exports. Some people, who oppose Indian farmers and India, are aghast,” he said.Also read: India-US Trade Deal: Five Takeaways From the White House StatementsThe minister said India has reduced or removed tariffs on some items it needs, including Dried Distillers Grains with Solubles (DDGS), wines and spirits (with a minimum import price), pista, walnuts, almonds, some industrial production inputs, many medicines for cancer treatment, heart treatment, neurological treatment, some cosmetics, organic and inorganic chemicals, several products related to computers, among others.“On some items tariffs will be removed immediately, while others will be done in a phased manner, and some will have quota based tariffs,” he said.Goyal also said that there will be zero export duty on smartphones, and that it is a “big win for India that America has agreed to provide ICT (information and communication technology) products”.“That (authorisation requirement) is more directed towards safeguarding our interest from countries which are known to do predatory pricing or supply goods at irrational prices, which are even sometimes lower than the cost of manufacture in India,” said Goyal.“Countries which have fair play and certainly and it is important that we all understand this, a country like the United States of America, where the cost of labour is probably 50 times the cost of labour in India, a country like the United States of America with a per capita income of $90,000 nearly, versus India which is at $3,000 per capita. There is certainly no competition. We actually complement each other.For our national security, we will certainly need many ICT products. For example, NVIDIA chips. We will certainly need AI equipment. We will certainly need data centres if we have to remain abreast with what is happening in the world. If our IT companies have to reorient themselves to start becoming more in tune with the needs of the world we will need these important ICT products. It is a big win for India that America has agreed to provide us all these ICT products which are the need of the hour in our country,” he added.