'India Hopeful Of Concluding Trade Pact With US By November': Piyush Goyal Wednesday, September 03, 2025 by Indian Defence News Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal with US Commerce secretary Howard Lutnick
India is currently pushing ahead with an ambitious global trade agenda, with Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal projecting optimism that a bilateral trade agreement (BTA) with the United States could be concluded by the fall season, potentially as early as November 2025.
Speaking at the Annual Global Investor Conference in Mumbai, Goyal emphasised the strategic importance of this agreement, reiterating that despite delays caused by emerging geopolitical complexities, the groundwork for a deal remains strong.
He highlighted that negotiations had been progressing steadily until a "little bit of geopolitical issues overtook trade issues," temporarily complicating the dialogue between the two sides.
The significance of this pact lies in the shared ambition of India and the US to scale bilateral trade in goods and services from the current USD 191 billion to USD 500 billion by 2030.
Negotiations between the two countries formally began in March 2025, with five rounds of discussions already completed. However, uncertainty surfaced when the US delegation, scheduled to visit India on August 25 for the sixth round of talks, postponed their visit following Washington's imposition of a 50 percent tariff on Indian goods starting August 27.
The absence of new dates for further discussions has added to the uncertainty, though both Delhi and Washington have signalled their commitment to advancing the dialogue.
Tensions are exacerbated by the US's concern over India's purchase of discounted Russian crude oil amid the Ukraine crisis, a policy India has consistently defended as an energy security measure aligned with its national interest and market requirements.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, addressing these strains, acknowledged India's pivotal role as the world's most populous democracy but criticised Delhi's ongoing energy trade with Moscow, claiming it indirectly fuels Russia's war efforts.
Nonetheless, Bessent struck a reassuring note, suggesting that "at the end of the day" the US-India partnership would prevail, noting that India's values remain ideologically closer to those of Washington and Beijing than Moscow. He further downplayed the global importance of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), which had just concluded a summit in Tianjin, calling it largely "performative."
Minister Goyal, while recognising such challenges, urged stakeholders to interpret the current global volatility as both a risk and a source of opportunity. He underlined that India is steadily positioning itself as a reliable partner in global supply chains through structural self-reliance.
Citing recent disruptions in the automobile and electronics sectors due to certain countries restricting critical inputs like permanent magnets, Mr. Goyal stressed the importance of diversifying supply chains and reducing excessive dependency on any single geography -- a veiled reference to China.
Advocating for local industry and consumers to prioritise "Swadeshi" (indigenous) goods, he pressed companies to source key materials like Cold Rolled Grain Oriented steel domestically.
On the broader global trade front, Mr. Goyal showcased India's expanding trade ecosystem. To date, India has inked free trade agreements (FTAs) with Australia, the United Arab Emirates, Mauritius, the United Kingdom, and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA).
Each partnership, he noted, reflects growing global confidence in India's economy and policy stability. Furthermore, negotiations with the European Union are advancing at an accelerated pace with a clear deadline of finalising the pact by the end of 2025.
Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal is currently leading the Indian side in Brussels, and the 13th round of India-EU negotiations is slated to begin on September 8. This round assumes heightened importance as it is expected to address critical differences before European Commissioner for Trade Maros Sefcovic's visit to India on September 12, underscoring the urgency attached to these talks.
From a strategic perspective, India's trade diplomacy reflects its ambition to integrate deeper into the global trading framework, while also shielding its domestic industries from external pressures.
The minister framed the narrative as a story of resilience amid global turbulence, suggesting that volatility and uncertainty are also drivers of innovation, adaptation, and capacity-building.
This aligns with a broader government strategy of enhancing domestic productivity, technological capacity, and resilience in key economic sectors.
In conclusion, while trade negotiations with the US currently face temporary hurdles, India remains hopeful of sealing the agreement within the year, reflecting a long-term vision of mutual economic growth and supply chain stability.
With parallel progress in negotiations with the EU and other global partners, India's trade architecture is rapidly expanding. The outcome of the India-US BTA, however, remains the most strategically significant milestone, holding the potential to redefine bilateral economic relations and substantially boost India's integration into the global economy at a time of profound geopolitical shifts.
Based On A PTI Report
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