Piyush Goyal rejects report claiming India refused quick US trade deal

Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Monday dismissed a report claiming that India had rejected a quick trade agreement with the US and was holding out for a better deal as "completely false, baseless and misleading".

Reacting to the report in a post on X, Goyal said he had "fantastic meetings" with US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer during the latter's visit to New Delhi in June and asserted that negotiations between the two sides were continuing.

"This news is completely false, baseless and misleading," Goyal said.

"I had fantastic meetings with USTR Jamieson Greer when he visited Delhi in June. Both sides reaffirmed their commitment to an agreement that is balanced, commercially meaningful, and delivers tangible benefits for businesses, farmers, workers, and consumers in both countries," he said.

"Our teams remain fully engaged in achieving this objective," the minister added.

A Reuters report, citing unnamed Indian and US officials, had claimed that India declined to conclude an interim trade agreement during Greer's visit last month as Washington did not provide assurances on New Delhi's key demands, including a tariff advantage over competitors and protection from fresh US levies after the agreement.

According to the report, India was unwilling to "rush into a deal" that was not on favourable terms and would not compromise on "red lines like ceding ground on agriculture".

The report said Washington was seeking quick trade concessions from India ahead of fresh tariffs expected later this month under the Trump administration. New Delhi, however, believed improving exports, new trade agreements with other partners and easing economic risks had strengthened its negotiating position.

Greer, who led an official US delegation to New Delhi from June 22 to 24, held multiple rounds of discussions with Goyal as the two sides sought to push forward talks on a balanced and mutually beneficial Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA).

According to the Commerce Ministry, the two leaders undertook a comprehensive review of key elements of the proposed pact, including market access, digital trade, supply chain resilience, reduction of non-tariff barriers and cooperation in strategic sectors.

“Both sides noted substantial progress by negotiating teams in recent months and welcomed the momentum from successive technical and ministerial-level engagements,” the ministry had said.