India-US Trade Talks: Piyush Goyal Heads To Washington As Tariff Rollout Looms

Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal will be travelling to Washington DC — his first such visit— to meet the freshly inducted Trump administration, amid talks for a year-end trade deal and a tariff rollout deadline looming.

During his visit between March 4-6, Goyal is likely to hold talks with US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.

Goyal and his team of negotiators will likely skip any aggressive stance on retaliatory tariffs during initial talks with the Trump administration, and the discussions are expected to revolve around magnitude of reciprocal tariffs, as well as the proposed Bilateral Trade Agreement.

Further, India may propose eliminating tariffs on most industrial products.

Goyal's visit is crucial as the US plans to impose reciprocal tariffs from April 2. It has already announced tariffs on China, Canada and Mexico, while leaving out India so far.

The BTA, agreed upon after PM Modi met President Trump last month, is aimed at doubling India-United States trade to $500 billion by 2030. It will also cover increasing market access for products and services from both countries, reducing tariff and non-tariff barriers, and deepening supply chain integration. 

The first part of the negotiations of the BTA are slated to be completed by the end of 2025, with both sides expected to soon appoint senior representatives to advance negotiations.

Speaking at the NDTV Profit Conclave last month, Goyal had said that India and the US are exploring mutual concessions and tariff reductions to facilitate smoother trade between the two countries.