India-US trade deal: Goyal meets Commerce Secretary to finalise agreement before July 9
India is negotiating for tariff exemptions and sectoral duty concessions as part of an interim trade deal with the US before suspended reciprocal tariffs return in July.
India is negotiating for tariff exemptions and sectoral duty concessions as part of an interim trade deal with the US before suspended reciprocal tariffs return in July.
India is negotiating for tariff exemptions and sectoral duty concessions as part of an interim trade deal with the US before suspended reciprocal tariffs return in July.
Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Friday met US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick in Washington, their second meeting within a week, to discuss the proposed bilateral trade agreement currently under negotiation between the two countries.
"Held a constructive meeting with Secretary @HowardLutnick for a mutually beneficial trade agreement. Committed to enhancing opportunities for our businesses and people," Goyal said in a post on X.
The meeting assumes significance as both countries are looking at finalising an interim trade pact by July 9, the day Washington's 90-day suspension of reciprocal tariffs on Indian goods ends. On April 2, the US imposed an additional 26 per cent reciprocal tariff on Indian goods, but later suspended it for 90 days. However, the 10 per cent baseline tariff imposed by America remains in place.
The four-day discussions between the chief negotiators of both the countries have also concluded in Washington on May 22. In the interim trade deal, New Delhi is pushing for full exemption from the 26 per cent reciprocal tariff on Indian goods. Currently, Indian exporters are paying just 10 per cent baseline tariff, instead of 26 per cent earlier proposed.
At present, the Trump administration requires approval from the US Congress to bring tariffs below the MFN (most favoured nation) rates. But the administration has the authority to remove the reciprocal tariffs imposed on a number of countries, including India.
India may look at certain commitments from the US on the duty concessions for its labour-intensive sector in the first tranche of the proposed bilateral trade agreement (BTA). Both countries have fixed a deadline to conclude the first phase of the pact by fall (September-October) of this year to more than double bilateral trade to USD 500 billion by 2030 from the current USD 191 billion.
To boost bilateral trade, India is seeking duty concessions for labour-intensive sectors like textiles, gems and jewellery, leather goods, garments, plastics, chemicals, shrimp, oil seeds, chemicals, grapes, and bananas in the proposed pact with America. On the other hand, the US wants duty concessions in sectors like certain industrial goods, automobiles (electric vehicles in particular), wines, petrochemical products, dairy, and agriculture items such as apples, tree nuts and GM (genetically modified) crops.
The US remained India's largest trading partner for the fourth consecutive year in 2024-25, with bilateral trade valued at $131.84 billion. The US 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.
India had a trade surplus (the difference between imports and exports) of $41.18 billion with the US in 2024-25. It was $35.32 billion in 2023-24, $27.7 billion in 2022-23, $32.85 billion in 2021-22 and $22.73 billion in 2020-21. The US has raised concerns over this widening trade deficit.