GBS 2026: 'Fully protected farmers’ interests in trade deal with US' - says Piyush Goyal | ET NOW Global Business Summit 2026

"When we did the trade deal with US, it was very clear that we need to protect our farmers. And therefore, all the main areas in which our farmers have high production or helped us become self sufficient, we were able to keep then out of the free trade agreement," he said.

"We have fully protected the interests of farmers, possibly, 95%+ of the local farm produce... even in this era of change, we are able to maintain our sensitive interests and focus on areas which are of mutual benefit," he said.

Goyal also exuded confidence that India will very soon become the third largest economy in the world. ‘Today we are fourth largest economy, may be a couple of years down, we should be the third-largest global GDP," he said.

Last week, the US and India announced they have reached a framework for an interim agreement on trade, under which New Delhi will eliminate or reduce tariffs on all American industrial goods, a wide range of food and agricultural products, as well as purchase USD 500 billion of US products over the next five years.

ET NOW Global Business Summit 2026: Day 1 LIVE VIDEO

ET NOW Global Business Summit 2026

At a time when disruption is continuous and power is being re-distributed across technology, geopolitics, capital, and society, Times Group’s thought leadership dialogue, ET NOW Global Business Summit (GBS) 2026, set to take place on February 13 and February 14 at the Hotel Taj Palace in New Delhi, embraces the theme “A Decade of Disruption. A Century of Change”.

GBS 2026 - A Decade of Disruption. A Century of Change

This year’s edition reflects the scale, speed, and significance of transformations reshaping global economies, from technological acceleration and geopolitical realignment to sustainability imperatives and new governance models.

The GBS 2026 will evaluate a range of themes, including economic disruption, Industry 5.0, globalisation, workforce transformation, energy security and business diversification.

The Times Group’s ET NOW Global Business Summit (GBS) is not a reflection on the past; it is a platform built to shape what comes next. As Asia’s most influential global leadership forum, it convenes the architects of economies, institutions, and enterprises to script the forces that will define the century ahead.

Conceived as a space where leaders confront uncertainty before it becomes inevitability, GBS convenes the world’s most influential voices to interpret disruption, design direction, and script long-term impact.

As economies, technologies, and governance systems undergo accelerated transformation, GBS serves as a centre of global conversations, where emerging realities are debated, strategic responses are forged, and the foundations of future growth are laid.