Piyush Goyal said India is working to sign new trade agreements with Canada, Israel and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), while also pushing ahead with negotiations for a trade deal with the United States.
Goyal said India wants a trade agreement with the US that provides preferential market access for Indian businesses. He added that India and the US are expanding cooperation in areas such as defence, critical minerals and investment.
According to Goyal, the proposed India-US trade deal could include preferential tariffs, rules of origin and investment-related provisions. He said he would be very pleased if the first set of agreements under the pact could be signed before July 24.
He noted that talks have taken longer than expected because the US initially imposed 50% tariffs on Indian goods. Goyal said India had to revisit parts of the negotiations after a US Supreme Court ruling that declared those tariffs illegal.
“After the US Supreme Court changed the rule of the game and called tariffs illegal, we had to rework the India-US trade deal,” Goyal said. He added that India’s focus is to ensure exporters, industries and farmers receive better market access than competing countries.
Goyal said India is discussing with the US how Indian companies can secure a comparative advantage. He also expects the agreement to create new opportunities for India’s services sector and help boost exports.
On sensitive sectors, Goyal said India will firmly protect the interests of farmers, fishers and the dairy industry. He highlighted that India has signed FTAs with Australia, New Zealand, the UK, the 27-member European Union, the four-country EFTA bloc and the US framework discussions without opening its dairy sector, calling it a key red line for India.
Meanwhile, US Trade Representative Ambassador Jamieson Greer is set to visit New Delhi this week to meet Goyal and other senior Indian officials. Discussions will focus on the US-India Joint Statement and the proposed Interim Agreement under the broader bilateral trade negotiations launched by President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on February 13, 2025. The talks are aimed at advancing a fair, balanced and reciprocal trade relationship between the two countries.
U.S.-India Trade Surpasses $212 Billion as Goods Deficit Widens
U.S.-India goods and services trade totaled $212.3 billion in 2024, up 8.3% ($16.3 billion) from 2023. Services trade reached $83.4 billion, with U.S. exports to India at $41.8 billion and imports from India at $41.6 billion, resulting in a $102 million services trade surplus.
U.S. goods trade with India totaled $149.4 billion in 2025. U.S. exports to India rose to $45.6 billion, up 9.8% ($4.1 billion), while imports from India increased to $103.8 billion, up 18.9% ($16.5 billion) from 2024.
The U.S. goods trade deficit with India widened to $58.2 billion in 2025, a 27.1% increase ($12.4 billion) compared with 2024.
