India-US BTA: Trade talks progressing in cordial atmosphere, Piyush Goyal says — 'no agreement can be made until...'

India-US BTA: Commerce minister Piyush Goyal on Saturday, asserted that talks regarding the proposed India-US Bilateral Trade Agreement are “progressing in a cordial manner,” and that there is 'no agreement until interests of the nation - India's farmers, India's fishermen, India's MSME sector are fully addressed.'

“I believe the talks are progressing in a very cordial atmosphere and I have said many times that free trade agreements or trade talks are never based on deadlines. There is no agreement unless we fully address the interests of the nation - India's farmers, India's fishermen, India's MSME sector. The talks are progressing very well. The talks are ongoing and we will definitely inform you when we reach a decision,” said Goyal.

The Indian official team, headed by Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal, was in Washington this week to hold trade talks with their US counterparts.

India-US Bilateral Trade Agreement

In February this year, leaders of India and the US directed officials to negotiate a proposed Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) – which aims to boost bilateral trade to USD 500 billion by 2030 from the current USD 191 billion.

They have fixed a deadline to conclude the first tranche of the pact by October-November 2025. So far, five rounds of negotiations have been completed. Last month, Goyal led an official delegation to New York for trade talks.

The talks – as part of the proposed India-US Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) – comes as India navigates 50% tariffs slapped by Trump on India – along with the latest 100 per cent levy on branded and patented pharmaceutical products.

Trump tariffs

Trump imposed a total of 50% tariffs on all goods imported from India, on top of the pre-existing 10% baseline import duty on any good imported into the Western nation.

Before the additional tariffs, Trump imposed a 25% tariff on all Indian goods imported into the United States, one day ahead of his initial 1 August 2025 deadline. The second round of tariffs, a 25% import duty, was imposed on India via an executive order dated 6 August 2025. These additional tariffs came into effect from 27 September 2025.

On October 1, Trump announced a 100% tariff on any branded, patented pharmaceutical product, along with 25-50% tariffs on kitchen cabinets, upholstery, among other items.

India-US ties

The US remained India's largest trading partner for the fourth consecutive year as of 2024-25, with bilateral trade valued at USD 131.84 billion.

According to data from the Commerce Ministry, India’s merchandise exports to the US fell by 11.93% in September to USD 5.46 billion, largely due to high tariffs imposed by Washington, while imports from the US rose by 11.78% to USD 3.98 billion during the same month, reported PTI.