Well on track in our bilateral trade agreement talks with US: Piyush Goyal

The negotiations for the trade agreement with the European Union (EU) are also progressing at a faster pace, he added

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Thursday said negotiations with the US for the proposed bilateral trade agreement are well on track.

The negotiations for the trade agreement with the European Union (EU) are also progressing at a faster pace, the minister said.

"We are well on track in our bilateral trade agreement with the US and making fast progress with EU," Goyal said at the CII's Annual Business Summit, 2025.

A US team is visiting India next week (June 5-6) for trade talks with India on an interim trade pact.

Speaking with reporters on the India-US trade agreement, the minister said both countries in February announced to negotiate a mutually beneficial bilateral trade agreement to boost bilateral trade to $500 billion.

"And for that we are continuously working," Goyal said adding India is capable of entering into good and mutually beneficial trade agreements with the US and different other countries.

When asked about a US court ruling that blocks President Donald Trump from imposing sweeping tariffs on imports, Goyal said: "We do not comment on domestic matters of other countries".

He added that India keeps good relations with developed countries to help provide opportunities for its youth, farmers and startups.

India is working to have good, balanced and mutually beneficial trade agreements with different nations, he added.

India is negotiating trade pacts with countries including the US, EU, New Zealand, Chile, Peru and Oman.

Earlier in the day, Special Secretary of the Department of Commerce Rajesh Agrawal said the talks are progressing well.

"Hopefully, in these tough times also, we will be able to navigate and come out with good outcomes sooner than later. We should be able to work out a trade partnership, where there are natural comparative advantages to our businesses on both sides," he said.

There are only a few areas where India and the US compete, he said.

"Most of the areas are where we can complement each other. If we can do a good trade deal, this can be a defining partnership in the trade arena and that's what is the intent behind approaching this bilateral trade agreement," Agrawal said.

The overall discussion around tariffs and trade deficit is the narrative of the US and those are the challenges they have to meet, he added.

"But that, I think, should not come in the way of our trade partnership that we are trying to stitch together," he said.

Negotiations for a proposed trade pact between India and the 27-nation European Union are progressing at a faster pace and both sides are looking at concluding the talks for an early harvest trade agreement soon.

The early harvest or an interim trade agreement would include issues such as intellectual property rights (IPRs), government procurement, tariff, and non-tariff barriers.