India will finalise trade deal with US once Washington provides tariff advantage over competing economies: Piyush Goyal

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal today said India would finalise its trade agreement with the US once Washington provides New Delhi with a tariff advantage over competing economies.

“As soon as the US is able to give us that preferential rate in comparison with our competition we will finalize the PTA and announce the final details,” he said while addressing the National Workshop on Leveraging FTAs -  Outreach Programme in New Delhi.

The minister said India's trade agreements were aimed not merely at lowering tariffs but at ensuring Indian exporters receive a competitive advantage in key markets. 

He pointed to the experience of India's textile industry, which has faced stiff competition from countries such as Bangladesh and Vietnam because of their preferential access to developed markets.

“A PTA or a FTA or a BTA bilateral trade agreement all of these are about getting a rate better than our competition. The absolute number is immaterial,” Goyal said.

India’s exports rose by nearly $37 billion in the first four months

Goyal aid exports increased to around $317 billion during April-July 2026, from about $280 billion in the corresponding period last year, marking an increase of $36-37 billion.

“We have kept a 1 trillion dollar target this year which is about 16% growth. I am happy to share with you that against last year's first four months, April to July, 280 billion dollars, we are at about 317 billion this year. 36-37 billion dollars higher in the first four months itself,”

He said the pace of exports typically accelerates towards the end of the calendar year and peaks in the January-March quarter, adding that the government is confident of sustaining the current momentum.

“This is a good sign. We have to sustain this growth,” Goyal said, adding that August export numbers so far also appeared to be “on course”.

Five more FTA’s to become operational soon

The minister's optimism comes as India seeks to leverage a series of trade agreements to expand its presence in international markets. The UK-India FTA became operational on July 15, while Goyal said five more agreements are expected to become operational as India continues to expand preferential market access for its exporters.

“Now that UK FTA is live on 15th July. We have Mauritius, Oman, UAE, Australia. Five more will be live,” he said. He added that the New Zealand agreement would become operational soon, followed by the India-EU agreement covering 27 nations.

Goyal asks exporters to take advantage of improved market access

He said the government now expects Indian businesses to take advantage of the improved market access by improving scale, quality and reliability.

“And in that breadth, one example will make it very clear for us for years that the textile industry could not prosper against Bangladesh or Vietnam because first they were LDC countries... Vietnam got FTAs done with many geographies... Now that story is changed. Our rates will be better,” he said.

Goyal said exporters would have to focus on quality, timely delivery and maintaining trust with international buyers.

“In that breadth... the ball is now entirely in our court and collectively,” he said.