(MENAFN- Live Mint) Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal stated on Thursday that discussions between India and the US regarding the proposed trade deal are moving forward. He expressed optimism that both countries would strive to reach a fair and balanced agreement soon amid US President Donald Trump's tariffs on New Delhi over Russian oil purchases.

He stated, "We are in dialogue with the United States of America. Our teams are engaged. We recently had the Commerce Secretary visit the US, and he met with his counterparts. We continue to engage with them, and talks are progressing. We hope to work towards a fair and equitable agreement in the near future.”

While speaking to DD, Goyal noted that both nations are actively engaged in negotiations, with dedicated teams collaborating on the process. He added that the Commerce Secretary has met with US counterparts to further drive progress toward a balanced and mutually beneficial trade agreement.

In February this year, the leaders of India and the United States instructed their officials to begin negotiations on a proposed Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA). A deadline has been set to finalise the first phase of the agreement by the fall (October–November) of 2025, with five rounds of discussions completed so far.

Last month, Goyal headed an official delegation to New York for further trade talks.

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India–US relations suffered a setback when Trump imposed a 25% reciprocal tariff on Indian exports, along with an additional 25% punitive duty linked to India's purchases of Russian oil. India termed these tariffs“unfair, unjustified and unreasonable”.

Earlier, on October 13, US Ambassador Sergio Gor met Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agarwal to discuss strengthening economic relations between India and the United States, with a focus on boosting investment in the US.

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In a post on X, the US Ambassador's office stated,“During my visit to India, I met with Commerce Secretary Agrawal and discussed US-India economic ties, including increased investment in the United States.”

Later, on Saturday, Gor met with PM Modi and reaffirmed that the partnership between the two countries will continue to grow stronger. Sharing his remarks on X, Gor wrote,“An honour to be with PM Narendra Modi this evening. Our relationship with India will only strengthen over the months ahead!”

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Meanwhile, the United States remained India's leading trading partner for the fourth consecutive year in 2024–25, with total bilateral trade amounting to USD 131.84 billion, of which exports stood at USD 86.5 billion. The US contributed around 18 per cent to India's total goods exports, 6.22 per cent to its imports, and 10.73 per cent to the nation's overall merchandise trade.

Commerce Ministry figures show that India's merchandise exports to the US dropped by 11.93 per cent to USD 5.46 billion in September, largely because of the high tariffs imposed by Washington. Imports from the US grew by 11.78 per cent to USD 3.98 billion during the same month.

(With inputs from PTI)

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