India-US trade deal: Piyush Goyal holds ‘constructive meeting’ with US commerce secretary Howard Lutnick

Union minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal on Thursday held "constructive meetings" with US commerce secretary Howard Lutnick on the upcoming India-US bilateral trade agreement, signalling that a deal could be imminent.

“Held a constructive meeting with Secretary Howard Lutnick for a mutually beneficial trade agreement. Committed to enhancing opportunities for our businesses and people,” Goyal said in a post on X.

This comes just days after Goyal highlighted "good discussions" with Lutnick towards expediting the first tranche of the India-US bilateral trade agreement earlier this week.

US President Donald Trump, after meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the White House earlier this year, had said that the U.S. wants a level playing field to bring down its trade deficit with India. He announced a new energy deal that will make the U.S. the largest supplier of oil and gas to India.

India's total goods trade with the U.S. was $129.2 billion last year, according to the United States Trade Representative (USTR). In 2024, India exported $87.4 billion worth of goods to the U.S. while the world's biggest economy exported $41.8 billion worth of goods to India. U.S. goods trade deficit with India was $45.7 billion in 2024, a 5.4% increase over 2023.

India and the US are working on a Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA), with both sides expected to finalise an initial agreement by the end of the first half of the current financial year. Following the India-US joint statement of February 13, 2025, which aimed to boost bilateral trade to $500 billion by 2030, the two countries held a meeting in New Delhi in March. Both sides have broadly agreed on a mutually beneficial, multi-sector trade deal, with the first phase set to be concluded by fall 2025. A follow-up meeting in April in Washington D.C. highlighted that discussions on tariff and non-tariff issues were productive. Both sides had outlined plans to start in-person sectoral discussions by the end of May.

India is currently engaged in negotiations for around 10 Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) and bilateral trade deals with various global partners. India secured a “historic and ambitious” agreement with the UK on May 6.

Since 2019, India has been actively pursuing these trade deals in response to changing economic conditions and to address the trade imbalance that tends to favour its partners. Negotiations are ongoing with the US and the EU, with efforts also focused on establishing fresh trade relations with other nations.

India and the European Union have set a goal to complete their FTA negotiations by the end of this year. Goyal met with EU Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security, Maros Sefcovic, in Brussels on May 1.

Meanwhile, India and Chile have agreed to begin talks on a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), which will extend beyond trade to include sectors like technology, health, agriculture, and critical minerals. Given India's focus on energy transition and electric mobility, the CEPA will also enable Indian companies to compete for lithium mining rights.

India and New Zealand have also decided to resume FTA negotiations, which had been stalled for over a decade. Additionally, India is advancing CEPA discussions with Oman and has signed an agreement to strengthen trade and investment ties with the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), which includes Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland.