India-US Trade Pact Will Provide Opportunity To Expand Economic Ties: Goyal

The proposed bilateral trade agreement between India and the US will provide both the countries with an opportunity to expand and strengthen trade ties, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Tuesday.

'We believe it's an opportunity for us to expand our bilateral trade and strengthen our partnership,' he told reporters here. The minister said that both America and India are close friends, allies and strategic partners.

The US is India's largest bilateral trading partner, and is a home to millions of persons of Indian origin. India and the US share 'very, very strong ties, whether in the world of business or geopolitically', he added. 'We are negotiating to make a nice, fair, equitable and balanced agreement to promote business,' Goyal said.

Goyal is here on an official visit to hold talks with Swiss leaders and business representatives to boost trade and investments. The remarks have come at a time when a US team is in New Delhi for the trade talks with their Indian counterparts. The week-long deliberations conclude on June 10.

In February, US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced plans to negotiate the first tranche or phase of a mutually beneficial multi-sector Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) by fall (September-October) of 2025. It is aimed at more than doubling the bilateral trade to $500 billion by 2030 from the current level of $191 billion.

The visit of the US official team gains importance as India and America are likely to agree on an interim trade agreement by the end of June, with New Delhi pushing for full exemption from the 26% reciprocal tariff on domestic goods. The US has suspended the proposed tariffs till July 9. There are expectations that an interim trade deal could be finalised before that.

The US remained India's largest trading partner for the fourth consecutive year in 2024-25, with bilateral trade valued at $131.84 billion. The US accounts for about 18% of India's total goods exports, 6.22% in imports, and 10.73% in the country's total merchandise trade.