Piyush Goyal was responding to a query on Donald Trump’s high tariffs on imports from India and when could Delhi expect “good news” on that front.
Union commerce minister Piyush Goyal on Saturday said that talks on a trade deal between India and the United States were progressing in a cordial atmosphere, but declined to give a deadline for the same.
Responding to a query on US President Donald Trump’s high tariffs on imports from India and when the country could expect “good news” on that front, Goyal told a press conference that the media would be informed when a decision is reached on the agreement.
“I believe the talks are progressing in a very cordial atmosphere, and I have said many times that free trade agreements or trade talks are never based on deadlines. There is no agreement unless we fully address the interests of the nation – India’s farmers, India’s fishermen, India’s MSME sector. The talks are progressing very well. The talks are ongoing and we will definitely inform you when we reach a decision,” minister said.
Trump has imposed a 50 per cent tariff, one of the highest in the world, on imports from India. In addition to a 25 per cent base tariff for what Trump calls “trade imbalance,” his administration imposed an additional 25 per cent due to New Delhi’s purchase of Russian oil amid Moscow’s war in Ukraine.
The geopolitical shift
There has been a geopolitical shift in the US tone since Donald Trump threatened a “100 per cent tariff” against China. That happened after Xi Jinping’s regime recently put more export controls — meaning levies and supply restrictions — on rare earths. The realignment thus could “accelerate a trade deal with India, with the US likely offering 16-18 per cent tariff access, higher than the 15 per cent for the EU and Japan but below the 20 per cent for Vietnam”, as per a Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) assessment.
With India, the reason for Trump’s aggression has been linked to things beyond mere business. Reports attributed his behaviour also to Modi’s refusal to play along with his claim that he used a tariff threat to force a ceasefire with Pakistan in May during Delhi’s Operation Sindoor against terror bases.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, whom Trump lists regularly as a “great, personal friend”, and his government have been measured in response to Trump’s mercurial temper.
Now, a deal may move quickly “because Washington wants it”, GTRI observed.
An Indian team is in the US this week for the sixth round of talks that began in April but were halted in August due to Trump’s aggression.
US treasury secretary Scott Bessent also listed India among allies in a “China versus the world” fight over rare earths, minerals that are used to make magnets crucial to auto, electronic and defence industries, 80 per cent of which are controlled by Beijing.
The GTRI still cautioned that India must look out for its core interests. “India must hold firm on its red lines in agriculture, digital trade, e-commerce, and intellectual property, and avoid any anti-China clauses that could limit its strategic autonomy,” the think tank’s assessment said. Foreign minister S Jaishankar has emphatically drawn these red lines multiple times.
Experts have said that the Americans are still likely to press for deeper market access in sectors such as medical devices, dairy, and technology services.
Things have changed quickly over the past few days, though, thanks to broader geopolitical shifts.
Washington’s central focus is securing the supply chain for its manufacturing industry. A pact could help both nations reduce dependence on China-linked supply networks.
“Ambassador-designate Sergio Gor was recently in India, and he met with all the stakeholders and had good meetings,” an official said. Gor met with Modi, too, giving him a photo signed by Trump as a gift, with a handwritten message: “Mr Prime Minister, you are great”.
“The negotiating team from India is in the US, and they are trying to see if we can have a win-win solution between the two sides,” government sources said. “We are in a deeper discussion. We have seen export growth to US and it may continue. Around 45 per cent of our exports to the US remain out of tariff,” the sources further told the news agency.
