Union Commerce and Industry Minister, Piyush Goyal, said on Wednesday that India and the US are holding “continuous discussions” for the proposed bilateral trade agreement, despite the negotiations coming to halt earlier.
“Talks are going well...and are continuously going on… kaee samvedanasheel mudde hai, kaee gambheer mudde hai, toh svaabhaavik hai ki thoda samay lagega (There are many sensitive issues, many serious issues, so it is natural that it will take some time),” the minister said.
In New Zealand on a four-day visit to discuss the India-New Zealand free trade agreement (FTA), Goyal seemed to reiterate the White House’s comment earlier on Wednesday about Prime Minister Narendra Modi being in constant touch with US President, Donald Trump.
So far, teams representing India and the US have completed five rounds of talks on the proposed bilateral trade agreement, with Goyal being present in the most recent one.
During the three-day talks that ended on October 17, a team of Indian officials that was headed by Commerce Secretary, Rajesh Agrawal, headed to Washington to hold trade talks with their US counterparts.
Also Read: India protects its vulnerable sectors in FTAs: Piyush Goyal
In February this year, leaders of India and the US directed officials to negotiate a proposed Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA). They hope to conclude the first tranche of the pact by the fall of 2025, which has so far not happened.
The proposed pact aims to more than double the bilateral trade to USD 500 billion by 2030 from the current USD 191 billion.
The US remained India’s largest trading partner for the fourth consecutive year in 2024-25, with bilateral trade valued at USD 131.84 billion (USD 86.5 billion exports). It accounts for about 18 per cent of India’s total goods exports, 6.22 per cent in imports, and 10.73 per cent in the country’s total merchandise trade.
The deliberations assume greater importance in the face of deteriorating relations between the two countries, especially after the Trump administration imposed a steep 50 per cent tariff on Indian goods, which includes a 25 per cent additional import duty for buying Russian crude oil.
India’s merchandise exports to the US declined by 11.93 per cent to USD 5.46 billion in September due to the high tariffs, while imports increased by 11.78 per cent to USD 3.98 billion during the month, according to the Commerce Ministry data.
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