India-US Trade Negotiations Going On 'At Very Fast Pace', Says Piyush Goyal

Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said on Monday that talks between India and the US for a bilateral trade agreement were going at a fast pace as a team of negotiators from India kicked off a fresh round of discussions in Washington.

"Negotiations are going on at a very fast pace and in the spirit of mutual cooperation so that we can come out with a win-win trade complementing agreement with the United States," Goyal told reporters at the sidelines of an event in New Delhi.

The ongoing round of talks is expected to stretch at least four days and marks the first formal engagement between both sides since the missed mini-deal window around July 9. That date was previously seen as a soft deadline, before which a limited trade package was expected to be announced. However, with no agreement reached, the US has now extended its tariff pause deadline to Aug. 1, creating a narrow window for progress.

Sources in the government said India remains committed to achieving a mutually beneficial deal, and that discussions this week are focused on the "first phase" of the larger trade engagement. Chief Negotiator Rajesh Agrawal is expected to join the team in Washington on Wednesday.

On the proposed India-EU trade deal, sources clarified that "every deal stands on its own", indicating no direct link between the US and EU negotiations.

Sources also indicated that a first part of this deal might only cover goods, and other segments like services, digital trade, IP and market access might come up in the first full tranche, which is expected by October this year and the full deal which is expected only next year.