‘National Interest Over Deadline’: Piyush Goyal on Progress in India‑US Trade Deal

‘National Interest Over Deadline’: India will not enter into any trade agreement based on deadlines and will accept the proposed trade deal with the US only when it is fully finalised, properly concluded and in the national interest, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said on Friday.

“Negotiations are underway, FTA (free trade agreement) is possible only it’s beneficial for both sides…it should be a win-win agreement,” Goyal said, speaking to reporters. He underscored that trade deals must align with India’s long-term priorities, saying that “national interests will always be supreme.”

On being asked about the trade deal with the United States, the minister further clarified India’s position: “India discusses on its own terms, discussions are ongoing with various countries. Whether it is the European Union, New Zealand, Oman, the United States, Chile, or Peru, negotiations for agreements are underway with many countries.”

When asked if an interim trade agreement between the two countries was possible by July 9, he said, "India never does any trade deal based on deadline or time frame. When the deal is done properly, and is completely finalised and is in the country's interest, then we will accept it".

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The minister’s comments came as India’s negotiating team, led by chief negotiator Rajesh Agrawal, returned to Delhi on Thursday after a week-long talks in Washington. Despite having a draft interim agreement in hand, people familiar with the discussions said, key issues around automobiles and agriculture remain unresolved.

The government has not opened up its agriculture sector fully, particularly around genetically modified crops and dairy products. The country is not willing to allow items like soybean and corn unless certified as non-GM, since GM crops are banned domestically.

July 9 marks the end of the 90-day suspension period of the US President Donald Trump-announced tariffs on dozens of countries, including India. An additional import duty of 26% was announced on Indian goods entering the US.

He added that there was no plan to visit Washington for the trade talks.

India is pushing hard to avoid the reciprocal tariff and securing lower tariffs for labour-intensive sectors like textiles, leather and automobile components. Washington has signalled that there will be no relief on the additional tariffs on steel and aluminium products, a government source said. The US had imposed a 25% import duty on steel and aluminium products in March, which was doubled to 50% in June.

“Negotiations are not contingent on any date… Our interest is that we should get a sustained preference over other competing countries in areas of our interest. If we get that, we will be happy to do a deal,” the official source said.

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On dairy, India has two main concerns: the subsistence-level nature of its farming, where millions depend on just one or two cows or buffaloes and religious sensitivities around US cattle feed that includes non-vegetarian products.

“The livelihoods of millions of farmers are at stake as they could not compete with America’s commercial-scale dairy farms,” said a second person, speaking on condition of anonymity.

To protect its farmers, India has softened its initial demand for the US to completely revoke the 26% “Liberation Day” reciprocal tariff that President Trump announced April 2, the second official said.

The tariff comprises a 10% baseline levy already in effect and an additional 16% country-specific tariff that will trigger on July 9.

India had sought withdrawal of all retaliatory tariffs but is willing to accept partial relief in exchange for limited agricultural concessions.

Outside of these negotiations, India on Friday told the World Trade Organisation that it will go ahead with levies on some US goods in retaliation to Washington’s higher tariffs on automobiles and their components.

US’ safeguard measures would hit $2.9 billion imports annually from India with $723.75 million in duties. “Accordingly, India’s proposed suspension of concessions would result in an equivalent amount of duty collected from products originating in the US,” according to a notification sent to the WTO

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