Commerce minister Piyush Goyal meets US counterpart to discuss 'first tranche of trade agreement'

As India and the US work towards inking a trade deal, Union commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal met with US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick

Updated on: May 20, 2025, 12:29:08 IST

By HT News Desk

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Union commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal met with US commerce secretary Howard Lutnick amid talks between India and the United States over a trade deal. The meeting came amid the 90-day tariff pause issued by US President Donald Trump after his April 2 tariff announcements.

Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal with US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick during a meeting in the US. (@PiyushGoyal on X)

Taking to the social media platform X, the minister stated that he had "good discussions" with Lutnik regarding the "first tranche of India-US Bilateral Trade Agreement."

This meeting between Goyal and Lutnick comes as both countries are trying to reach an agreement on the tariff rates and enhancing bilateral ties.

As per a PTI report, India is seeking duty concessions for labour-intensive sectors like textiles, gems and jewellery, leather goods, garments, plastics, chemicals, shrimp, oil seeds, grapes, and bananas.

Meanwhile, the US is looking for concessions for certain industrial goods like automobiles (electric vehicles in particular), wines, petrochemical products, dairy, agriculture items such as apples and tree nuts.

The US announced an additional 26 percent tariffs on India till July 9 during Liberation Day. However, this rate stands paused after Trump announced a halt for 90 days in the revised tariff hikes.

India-US Work Towards BTA

Earlier this month, Piyush Goyal stated that the conversation with the US regarding a bilateral trade agreement was "going well."

As per PTI, the terms of reference for the trade agreement has been finalised by both countries. These include 19 chapters of issues such as tariffs, goods, services, rules of origin, non-tariff barriers, and customs facilitation.

The US continues to be one of India's largest trading partners, with bilateral trade worth $131.84 billion in 2024-25. Officials from New Delhi and Washington aim to finalise and seal the deal by the fall of 2025.

(With inputs from PTI)

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