Union Minister of Commerce & Industry, Mr. Piyush Goyal, to lead a team of officials to Washington for trade talks from May 16

Union Minister of Commerce & Industry, Mr. Piyush Goyal, will lead a delegation of senior Indian officials to Washington from May 16, 2025, to engage in discussions with United States (US) counterparts on the proposed Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA). Mr. Piyush Goyal is scheduled to meet US Trade Representative Mr. Jamieson Greer and United States Secretary of Commerce Mr. Howard Lutnick. The four-day talks aim to leverage the current 90-day tariff pause to secure early gains through a potential interim trade arrangement in goods, with the first phase of the BTA targeted for conclusion by September–October. As part of these efforts, India’s Chief Negotiator, Mr. Rajesh Agrawal, and US Assistant Trade Representative, Mr. Brendan Lynch, held three-day consultations in Washington following Mr. Piyush Goyal's earlier meetings with Mr. Jamieson Greer and Mr. Howard Lutnick in March.
India is seeking duty concessions on labour-intensive sectors such as textiles, leather goods, gems and jewellery, garments, plastics, chemicals, shrimp, and agricultural products like grapes and bananas. In return, the US is pushing for tariff relief in industrial goods, electric vehicles, wines, petrochemicals, dairy, apples, and tree nuts. Both nations have finalised the terms of reference for the BTA, covering 19 chapters addressing tariffs, non-tariff barriers, rules of origin, services, and customs facilitation. The US, which has suspended an additional 26% tariff on Indian goods until July 9, 2025, but retained a 10% base tariff, remains India's top trading partner for the fourth straight year. Bilateral trade stood at Rs. 11,23,408 crore (US$ 131.84 billion) in 2024-25, with the US accounting for 18% of India’s exports and a trade surplus of Rs. 3,50,894 crore (US$ 41.18 billion), prompting US concern over the growing imbalance.

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