Goyal at it once again - this time causes diplomatic embarrassment for India

New Delhi: Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal seems to have mastered the art of antagonising people and embarrassing the government. This time, his unsavoury remarks against ASEAN have sparked off a diplomatic row.

By calling several ASEAN countries as "B team of China", Goyal has visibly riled many friendly nations.

The ASEAN co-chair overseeing the review of the India-ASEAN Free Trade Agreement (FTA) has conveyed his strong displeasure over Goyal's remarks and questioned the tone and timing of his statement.

The Congress was quick to use it as a handle to attack the government, terming it another blow to Indian diplomacy.

Slamming Goyal, senior Congress leader and former union commerce minister Anand Sharma said his remarks were "irresponsible, insulting, unwarranted, ill-advised and unfortunate, thus belittling" India-ASEAN Trade agreements.

His party colleague Jairam Ramesh said, "India has very close civilisational, cultural, economic, and political ties with the 10-nation ASEAN Group--Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. ASEAN, which came into being almost six decades ago, has a combined GDP just slightly lower than that of India."

"ASEAN now ticks him off. Indian diplomacy suffers yet another blow. This was needless," he added.

Last week, speaking at the India Global Forum (IGF) session on UK-India Science, Technology and Innovation Collaboration at the Science Museum in London, Goyal had said, "There was a point of time 15 years ago when we were more focused on doing FTAs with countries who were our competitors. So if I am doing an ASEAN agreement, it really is silly because (that is) opening up my market to my competitors, many of whom have now become the B team of China."

Goyal’s remarks spark diplomatic row

This statement came at a time when India’s ongoing review of its FTA with the ASEAN bloc was already facing headwinds. Goyal’s undiplomatic remarks have now further complicated the country’s position in a region critical to its economic and strategic interests.

For years, Indian industry has demanded a comprehensive review of the 2009 FTA in goods with the 10-nation ASEAN group. The pact is seen as heavily biased against India. While Indian exports to ASEAN hover at around $38-39 billion annually, imports from the grouping have increased to $86 billion, reflecting a widening trade deficit that India has struggled to address.

Goyal had visibly crossed a line by using undiplomatic language. By labelling ASEAN as a proxy for China, Goyal has made it politically difficult for Southeast Asian countries to make concessions without appearing to bow to Indian pressure.

The controversy could encourage further stonewalling, putting the very objective of a balanced FTA at risk.

Goyal’s foot-in-mouth disease

This is not the first time that Goyal has displayed the “foot-in-the-mouth disease”. At the Startup Mahakumbh in Delhi earlier this year, Goyal disparaged Indian startups as mere “food delivery apps” and “fancy ice creams & cookies,” contrasting them unfavorably with Chinese startups advancing in robotics and Artificial Intelligence (AI). This came at a time when the Mahakumbh was intended to celebrate Indian innovation.

Industry leaders, entrepreneurs, and journalists had then slammed the commerce minister’s remarks, pointing out that the same food delivery startups he belittled had contributed thousands of jobs and that his government had on many occasions quoted these figures as its employment boasts. These startups, once the pride of “New India,” were left wondering whether policymakers understood their challenges, such as the chronic lack of risk capital and systemic support.

Unbecoming of a Commerce Minister

For a commerce minister, whose words carry weight in both international negotiations and the domestic economy, such repeated lapses are not just embarrassing—they are harmful. In a hyper-competitive, multi-polar world, where perception can shape reality, the optics of such a senior minister alienating trading partners one day and demoralising domestic innovators the next sends a signal of confusion and inconsistency.

Goyal’s tendency to shoot from the hip is unbecoming of his office and has begun to extract a real price, both abroad and at home.