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Informist, Monday, Jun. 1, 2026

 

--Trade minister: To hold talks with US team on trade deal Tue-Thu 

 

NEW DELHI – India and the US are likely to soon announce the first phase of the proposed bilateral trade agreement, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said Monday. After significant progress in negotiations, the US team will be here Tuesday-Thursday to hold further discussions, Goyal said.

 

Goyal's comments come shortly after US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor last month said that the much-awaited bilateral trade with India might be finalised in the "coming weeks and months". According to a senior commerce ministry official, India will prefer a deal with the US that offers a competitive advantage over peer economies.

Discussions on an India-US trade agreement have seen much ebb and flow, and the two countries have so far held multiple rounds of negotiations to seal a mutually beneficial agreement. The two countries had announced an interim trade deal in February, under which Washington scrapped the penal tariff of 25% on Indian goods and cut the reciprocal tariff to 18% from 25%. But later that month, the US Supreme Court quashed the reciprocal tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump. Currently, the Trump administration has imposed a blanket 10% tariff on all goods entering the US.

The US is India's top export destination. In FY26, India's exports to the US rose to $87.31 billion from $86.51 billion a year ago, and imports increased to $52.97 billion from $45.63 billion a year ago. According to the official, India will also seek an exemption from Washington's Section 301 during the negotiations with the US team this week.

 

Section 301 is the US' tool to combat unfair trade practices, authorising it to impose tariffs or other import restrictions on other nations, withdraw or suspend trade agreement concessions, and enter into a binding agreement with the foreign government to either cease the conduct in question or compensate the US. The US' sweeping tariffs, all under Section 301, will likely be imposed on India if the two countries do not conclude an interim trade agreement before Jul. 24, when the current 10?seline tariff window is scheduled to expire.  End

 

US$1 = INR 94.99

 

Reported by Sagar Sen

Written by Priyasmita Dutta

Edited by Avishek Dutta

 

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