Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Thursday said that India and the United States are in the advanced stages of discussions for a bilateral trade agreement. Speaking at the ET Startup Awards, Goyal said that both nations have completed five rounds of talks so far for the first phase of the trade deal and that negotiations are still ongoing.
“We are at the advanced stage of discussions with both the EU and the US for trade deals,” Goyal said, adding that India will pursue agreements that align with its national interests.
His remarks come after a senior government official said last week that the proposed India-US trade deal is “very near” to being concluded. “We are very near as far as the deal is concerned,” the official had said, as quoted by PTI.
Last week, during the Berlin Global Dialogue, Goyal had also stated that India would not rush into any agreement or sign a deal “with a gun to our head.”
The latest statement by Goyal comes shortly after US President Donald Trump indicated that a trade deal between New Delhi and Washington was imminent. Speaking at the APEC CEO Summit in Gyeongju, South Korea, Trump said he had great “respect and love” for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and confirmed that the US was “doing a trade deal with India.”
“If you look at India and Pakistan… I’m doing a trade deal with India, and I have great respect and love for Prime Minister Modi. We have a great relationship,” Trump said earlier this week.
However, his comments come amid rising tensions between the two nations after Trump imposed a 50% tariff on Indian goods and an additional 25% levy related to India’s purchase of Russian crude oil. India has called these actions “unfair, unjustified, and unreasonable.”
Trump also reiterated that India has been reducing its imports of Russian oil, though New Delhi has denied Trump’s earlier claims that Prime Minister Modi personally promised to halt such purchases.
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Shivam Verma is a journalist with over three years of experience in digital newsrooms. He currently works at NewsX, having previously worked for Firstpost and DNA India. A postgraduate diploma holder in Integrated Journalism from the Asian College of Journalism, Chennai, Shivam focuses on international affairs, diplomacy, defence, and politics. Beyond the newsroom, he is passionate about football—both playing and watching—and enjoys travelling to explore new places and cuisines.
