A team of officials led by Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal will visit Washington on September 22 to resume negotiations for a trade deal. “The delegation plans to take forward the discussions with a view to achieve early conclusion of a mutually beneficial Trade Agreement,” the Ministry of Commerce and Industry said in a release.
Goyal will travel to New York accompanied by Special Secretary Rajesh Agrawal and a team of senior officials. The visit follows a round of discussions held in Delhi on September 16, when a delegation from the Office of the US Trade Representative engaged with Indian counterparts. Both sides described the talks as positive and agreed to accelerate negotiations on key aspects of the agreement.
“In continuation of these discussions, a delegation led by the Minister is visiting the United States for meetings with the US side,” the ministry said in a statement.
Signs of recovery in India-US ties
The move comes after a difficult phase in bilateral trade ties. President Donald Trump’s decision last month to double tariffs to 50% on Indian exports strained the trade relationship between the two nations.
The higher duties have already begun to squeeze Indian exporters, with reports of cancelled orders in labour-intensive sectors like textiles, footwear and fisheries. However, signs of recovery in the trade ties became slightly visible following a cordial exchange between Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on the latter’s 75th birthday last week.
Chief Economic Adviser V Anantha Nageswaran recently said the additional 25% US tariffs on India would likely not extend beyond November 30.