By Rounak Bagchi

Copyright timesnownews

Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal is expected to travel to Washington in the coming days as negotiations on a bilateral trade agreement between India and the United States continue to gain momentum, people familiar with the matter told news agency PTI. “The commerce minister’s visit is likely soon… may be in the next few days… for the trade talks,” the sources told PTI. The trip would follow daylong discussions in New Delhi this week between US Chief Negotiator Brendan Lynch and his Indian counterpart Rajesh Agrawal. Speaking Thursday in Abu Dhabi at the 13th meeting of the UAE-India High-Level Joint Task Force on Investments, Goyal described India’s recent talks with US officials as “promising” and reflective of the broader partnership between the two countries. “The US discussions with the Assistant USTR happened two days back,” he said. “They were productive and are working on the right track. The US relationship is a very strong, comprehensive strategic partnership between two friendly countries.” On September 16, the Commerce Ministry had said that the most recent negotiations between the two countries were “positive,” adding in a statement that both sides had agreed to push for “an early and mutually beneficial conclusion” of the agreement. Following a seven-hour session with the visiting American team, the ministry said, “It was decided to intensify efforts to achieve early conclusion of a mutually beneficial trade agreement.” This comes at a time when the US has imposed a 50 percent tariff on Indian imports, including a 25 percent penalty for purchasing Russian crude oil. So far, negotiators have completed five rounds of talks, with the goal of finalising the first tranche of the deal by the fall of 2025. Officials hope the agreement will more than double bilateral trade, expanding from $191 billion today to $500 billion by 2030. Goyal last visited Washington in May, when he met with US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. His return would signal fresh urgency as the two countries try to reach common ground. The United States has been India’s largest trading partner for the past four years. In fiscal year 2024-25, bilateral trade stood at $131.84 billion, including $86.5 billion in Indian exports. American trade accounted for about 18 percent of India’s goods exports, 6.22 percent of imports, and 10.73 percent of the country’s overall merchandise trade, government figures show.