India-US Trade Deal on Track for November Finalisation
According to a top government source, the much-anticipated trade talks between India and the US are set to resume next week, following a pause triggered by the US imposing an additional 25 per cent tariff on India regarding Russian oil purchases.
By : Madhusudan Sahoo
Update: 2025-09-11 14:20 GMT
Patna: Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Thursday said negotiations between India and the United States on the proposed bilateral trade agreement are progressing in a positive atmosphere, with both sides expressing satisfaction over the progress made so far.
“Discussions have been going on in a positive atmosphere with seriousness since March. It is progressing, and both the countries are satisfied with the progress,” Goyal told reporters. He had earlier stated that India is in “active dialogue” with the US for the agreement.
His remarks came a day after US President Donald Trump said there would be “no difficulty” for the two countries to successfully conclude the talks and that he looked forward to speaking with his “very good friend” Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the coming weeks.
The two nations have been engaged in negotiations since March, completing five rounds so far. The sixth round, originally scheduled for last month, was deferred after the US imposed an additional 25 per cent tariff on Indian goods over India’s purchase of Russian crude oil. No fresh dates have been finalised.
The proposed pact aims to more than double bilateral trade in goods and services to $500 billion by 2030, up from the current $191 billion. However, the negotiations have been slowed by US demands for greater market access in sensitive areas such as agriculture and dairy, which India has opposed, citing risks to the livelihoods of small and marginal farmers.
American tariffs have also hit India’s labour-intensive export sectors, including shrimp, textiles, leather, and footwear. India has described these tariffs as unfair, unjustified, and unreasonable.
The US remains India’s largest trading partner, with bilateral trade in goods at $131.8 billion in 2024–25, including $86.5 billion in exports and $45.3 billion in imports. The US is also India’s third-largest investor, accounting for $76.26 billion in FDI between April 2000 and June 2025—10 per cent of India’s total FDI inflows during this period.