The proposed bilateral trade agreement between India and the US will provide the two countries with an opportunity to expand and strengthen trade relations, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Tuesday.
“We believe this is an opportunity to expand bilateral trade and strengthen our partnerships,” he told reporters here. The minister said both the US and India are close friends, allies and strategic partners.
The United States is India’s largest bilateral trading partner and home to millions of people of Indian origin. India and the US share “very strong relationships, whether it’s in the business world or the geopolitical world,” he added. “We are negotiating to create a lovely, fair, fair and balanced agreement to promote our business,” Goyal said.
Goyal is here on an official visit to hold consultations with Swiss leaders and business representatives to boost trade and investment. The statement came when a US team was in New Delhi for trade consultations with its Indian counterparts. The weekly deliberation will end on June 10th.
In February, US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced plans to negotiate the first tranche or phase of a mutually beneficial multi-sector bilateral trade agreement (BTA) by the fall of 2025 (September to October).
As India and the US are likely to agree to a temporary trade agreement by the end of June, the visit of the US official team has gained importance, with New Delhi seeking a full 26% mutual tariff exemption on domestic goods. The US suspended the proposed tariffs until July 9th. Before that, there is hope that the interim trade agreement will be finalized.
The US has been India’s largest trading partner for the fourth consecutive year between 2024 and 2025, with bilateral trade of $131.84 billion. The US accounts for around 18% of India’s total goods exports, 6.22% imports, and 10.73% of the country’s total goods trade.
