Goyal, Lutnick hold talks to expedite India-US trade deal

Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal with US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick

Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal and US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick held a discussion on May 19 to expedite the first tranche of the Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA).

"Good discussions with Secretary Howard Lutnick towards expediting the first tranche of India-US Bilateral Trade Agreement," Goyal said on X.

Goyal, along with India’s Chief negotiator Rajesh Agarwal and a large team of Indian officials, has been in the US since May 17 for almost a week, conducting talks over the trade deal.

Moneycontrol had earlier reported that while the first tranche of the bilateral accord may be finalised only by September or October, India is aiming to firm up talks in the next 45 days for a scaled-down version.

India and the US are currently discussing the contours of the trade pact as part of Mission 500, a broader initiative aiming to more than double bilateral trade to $500 billion by 2030.

On April 29, the commerce ministry said India and the US are betting on opportunities for early mutual wins as both sides inch closer to finalising a multi-sector BTA.

During the in-person sectoral talks, presently underway, India is likely to discuss its offer of zero-to-zero tariffs for industrial goods, while also push for protecting sensitive sectors such as farm and dairy from concession through the trade deal.

US President Donald Trump on May 15 said the Indian government has “offered us a deal where basically they are willing to literally charge us no tariff.”

Reacting to Trump’s claims, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on the same day said that the ongoing negotiations are complex and far from final.