Piyush Goyal meets Jamieson Greer in New Delhi today: Key issues on India-US trade on the agenda

US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal will begin two-day talks on the first phase of the bilateral trade agreement (BTA) in the national capital today, 22 June.

The high-level discussions will focus on the United States-India Joint Statement and an Interim Agreement, which is part of broader bilateral trade negotiations. These negotiations were originally launched by President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 13 February, 2025, according to a United States Trade Representative press statement.

The meeting followed chief negotiator-level discussions on the pact held earlier this month (June 2-4) in the national capital.

"For the US trade deal talks, tomorrow my counterpart is coming to Delhi," Goyal told reporters in Mumbai on Monday. India is seeking a competitive advantage for its exporters over rival nations in the proposed trade agreement with the US, Goyal added.

The talks today follow a meeting between Prime Minister Modi and President Trump on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Evian, France, where both leaders pushed for an expedited timeline.

From New Delhi, Greer travels to Tashkent, Uzbekistan, to meet with President Mirziyoyev, Head of the Presidential Administration Saida Mirziyoyeva, and Deputy Prime Minister Jamshid Khodjaev.

‘Interim bilateral trade pact reached its final stages’

Last week, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said that the interim bilateral trade pact reached its final stages. Speaking at a briefing after the G7 summit, Misri highlighted that both nations made significant progress and emphasied the importance of Ambassador Greer's impending visit to New Delhi to drive the trade deliberations forward.

Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal also said recently that the discussions between the two ministers are expected to be centred around giving final touches to the framework deal.

On June 5, Goyal said India and the US are moving towards closing all the open ends of the interim trade agreement, and both sides are likely to execute the "very, very vibrant" first phase of the BTA by the middle of next month.

The 10 per cent temporary tariff imposed by the US on all its trading partners on February 24, 2026, for 150 days will expire on July 24. After that, the MFN (most favoured nation) tariffs will come into force on goods imported by the US.

The temporary tariff is levied over and above the MFN duty. So before July 24, the US has to put in place a new tariff regime.

Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 investigations

For that, the US is conducting two Section 301 investigations against a number of countries, including India. This is the only legal mechanism through which the US can impose new tariffs of any magnitude.

Goyal has, however, has expressed confidence that India and the United States would successfully conclude a bilateral trade agreement, despite the probe.

“So this (Section 301 investigation) is really a mechanism being created, given their (the US) constraints that the Congress is not going to support any of their actions (on reciprocal tariffs)… They are trying to create a competitive edge for India. So I don’t think (we need to) worry about Section 301, we’ll tackle it, it’s our responsibility,” Goyal said at the Financial Express India's Best Banks Awards in Mumbai on Sunday, on 7 June.

Sergio Gor expresses optimism

US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor on Monday expressed optimism ahead of United States Trade Representative (USTR) Jamieson Greer's visit to New Delhi to discuss the bilateral trade deal.

In a post on X, the US envoy signalled his anticipation for Greer's visit, stating that he is looking forward to welcoming him to the capital for his scheduled meeting with Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal, alongside other senior officials.

"Looking forward to welcoming Ambassador Greer @USTradeRep to New Delhi! Multiple sessions scheduled with Minister @PiyushGoyal to advance the U.S.-India trade deal!," he wrote.

What was Feb 7 Joint Statement on BTA

On February 7, India and the US issued a joint statement finalising the contours or framework of the first phase of the BTA or an interim trade deal.

The US had agreed to reduce tariffs on India to 18 per cent from 50 per cent, according to the framework. It had removed the 25 per cent tariffs on Indian goods for buying Russian oil and was to cut the remaining 25 per cent to 18 per cent under the pact. But the US Supreme Court ruled against these tariffs.

As the tariff landscape changed in the US, both sides are relooking at the agreement's framework, news ageny PTI said.

The February joint statement on the framework has a clause that, in the event of any changes to the agreed-upon tariffs of either country, the US and India agree that the other country may modify its commitments.

Under the agreed framework, India proposed to eliminate or reduce tariffs on all US industrial goods and a wide range of food and agricultural products, including dried distillers' grains (DDGs), red sorghum for animal feed, tree nuts, fresh and processed fruit, soybean oil, wine and spirits, and additional products.

What to expect?

New Delhi has also expressed its intentions to purchase $500 billion of US energy products, aircraft and aircraft parts, precious metals, technology products, and coking coal over the next five years.

When the framework of the first phase of the bilateral trade agreement was finalised, India had a comparative advantage over its competitor countries, such as ASEAN nations (Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Philippines, Brunei, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar, Cambodia), Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Bangladesh.

Under the framework, the US had announced an 18 per cent tariff on Indian goods. At that time, tariffs on India's competing countries ranged from 19 to 20 per cent. But now, all countries face the same 10 per cent additional levy.

Sources told news agency PTI that it is important that India should get an advantage over its competitor nations on the tariff front in the trade pact with the US.

India's outbound shipments to the US grew marginally by 0.92 per cent to $87.3 billion during the last fiscal year, while imports increased 15.95 per cent to $52.9 billion. The trade surplus declined to $34.4 billion in 2025-26 from $40.89 billion in 2024-25.

(With agency inputs)