India, US working towards closing trade deal quickly: Goyal

Indian markets are expected to react to the fresh comments by Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal on the India-US trade deal. The negotiations for a proposed bilateral trade agreement between India and the US are progressing, and both countries are working to close the deal "quickly", Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Saturday.

He expressed confidence that "good news" on this front will be announced in the near future.

"Every free trade agreement stands on its own legs. And we are having very good negotiations. My counterpart in the US and I have a very wonderful working relationship and a wonderful personal friendship. We are working towards closing the deal quickly," Goyal told PTI in an interview.

He was replying to a question about when the "father of all deals" between India and the US would become a reality, now that the "mother of all deals" is already in the bag.

The free trade agreement between India and the European Union, which was concluded recently, has been widely termed as "mother of all deals".

On whether the India-US trade pact could be concluded by the end of this year, he said trade deals are never negotiated with a deadline and would be finalised at the right time and in the interests of both countries.

Ahead of his scheduled trip to Washington next week, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Thursday held talks with US Ambassador Sergio Gor, focusing on key dimensions of bilateral ties, including in areas such as trade, critical minerals and defence.

The external affairs minister is travelling to the United States to attend the inaugural ministerial meeting on critical mineral supply chains.

He is expected to hold a bilateral meeting with Secretary of State Marco Rubio amid indications that both sides are making fresh attempts to conclude a proposed trade deal.

A delegation from the office of the US Trade Representative, led by Deputy Trade Representative Ambassador Rick Switzer, was here in the national capital in December 2025 for trade talks.

India and the US are working to finalise the first tranche of the pact.

The visit of US officials marks their second trip since the imposition of a 25 per cent tariff and an additional 25 per cent penalty on Indian goods entering the American market due to the purchase of Russian crude oil.

When asked if Russian oil purchases by India are one of the irritants in the bilateral our relations, Goyal said: "I don't think that's an irritant. There could have been some misunderstandings, which have largely been resolved".

While commenting on the budget, the commerce minister on Saturday expressed confidence that the 2026-27 Budget, to be presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on February 1, would be a good one.