India hopeful of clinching US trade deal by November amid tariff tensions

Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Tuesday expressed hope of concluding a bilateral trade agreement (BTA) with the United States by November, even as tensions rise after the Trump administration imposed 50% tariffs on Indian goods.

“I do hope that things will get back on track soon and we will conclude a bilateral trade agreement by autumn, November or so, as was discussed by our two leaders in February,” Goyal said while addressing the Annual Global Investor Conference 2025.

Talks between the two countries have stalled since US negotiators deferred an August 25 visit to New Delhi.

Goyal’s remarks came a day after US President Donald Trump said on Truth Social that India had “now offered to cut their tariffs to nothing, but it’s getting late,” describing trade ties as “a totally one-sided relationship.”

Trump criticised New Delhi for buying “most of its oil and military products from Russia and very little from the US” and said Indian tariffs had long shut American firms out of the market.

“They have now offered to cut their Tariffs to nothing, but it’s getting late. They should have done so years ago. Just some simple facts for people to ponder!!!” he wrote.

Negotiations on the proposed trade pact are unlikely to restart until Washington rolls back the additional 25% levy, The Indian Express reported, citing a government official.

The next round of talks was to be held in New Delhi on August 25, but was suspended after Trump termed India’s Russian oil purchases a “deal breaker”.

With the fresh levy taking effect from August 27, US tariffs on Indian exports have effectively doubled to 50%, the steepest in the world alongside those on Brazil.

Meanwhile, Goyal is scheduled to meet exporters on Wednesday to discuss ways to boost shipments in the face of higher US duties. Representatives from all export promotion councils (EPCs) and the Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) will participate in the deliberations.

According to officials, the Commerce Ministry is working on short, medium and long-term measures to support exporters. These include easing norms for SEZ units, introducing an inventory model for e-commerce exports, improving liquidity, preventing insolvencies and targeted import substitution. Medium-term steps will focus on leveraging FTAs, buyer-seller outreach and strengthening GST reforms.

India’s exports snapped a two-month declining trend in July, rising 7.29% to USD 37.24 billion, even as trade deficit widened to an eight-month high of USD 27.35 billion. During April-July 2025-26, exports grew 3.07% to USD 149.2 billion, while imports rose 5.36% to USD 244.01 billion, leading to a trade deficit of USD 94.81 billion.