Indian Trade Minister Piyush Goyal was upbeat on Thursday that New Delhi and Washington may settle a trade agreement before the impending August 1 deadline to prevent US tariffs of as much as 26%.
"Always optimistic," Goyal commented in an interview with Bloomberg TV in London when queried regarding the possibility of coming to an agreement. He stressed his close relationship with America's important officials, referring to US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnik and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer as "very dear friends."
As per Goyal, talks between the two countries continue to be positive, and no significant hurdles are holding back progress. He further explained that controversial topics such as H-1B visa rules for qualified professionals were not being discussed in this year's talks.
Though there have been prolonged talks for a number of months, the two countries had originally committed to reaching an interim trade pact by this fall. There have been hints of a breakthrough in recent times from both the sides. But with the deadline looming near, stakes are high.
While the US has insisted on greater access to India's dairy and agricultural markets, India is seeking relief from sector-specific Trump tariffs—specifically, on pharmaceutical products and auto parts. There are active negotiations, but the irritants have not yet been fully removed.
Complicating the negotiations are geopolitical tensions. President Donald Trump recently threatened secondary sanctions against countries such as India and China for still buying Russian oil—actions that can bear down on trade diplomacy.
On the day, Goyal joined Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the UK, where India and the UK signed a comprehensive free trade agreement. The agreement does away with tariffs on some of the most important items such as cars and alcoholic drinks, a huge achievement in India's global trade policy.
We are having very strong negotiations with many countries," Goyal said, mentioning talks underway with the US, the European Union, New Zealand, Peru, and Chile.
India is among the world's biggest economies in negotiations with the US preceding the August 1 deadline for the intended tariffs. New trade deals this week were announced by the White House with Japan and the Philippines, as well as revisions to an earlier announced deal with Indonesia.
