There are indications that talks regarding the proposed trade agreement between India and America have reached the final stage. Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal says that after the completion of the agreement, India can get a competitive edge in the international market.
Tezzbuzz Desk- Regarding the proposed trade deal between India and America, Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has said that this agreement will give India an opportunity to strengthen its position in the global market. Speaking at the fourth ISID-IDRA National Conference on India's Industrial Transformation held in Delhi on Thursday, he said that the basis of trade is in which products and services a country can perform better than other countries.
Piyush Goyal said that India has so far signed 8 Free Trade Agreements (FTA). He said that after the information about these agreements became public, he did not find anyone who pointed out any major flaw in them. Regarding the proposed 9th trade agreement with America, he said that some people are giving it a political color, while its complete information has not been made public yet. He hopes that once the terms of the agreement are revealed, the people of the country will welcome it.
India-US trade deal talks in final stages
Talks are ongoing to finalize the trade agreement between India and America. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, after meeting Foreign Minister S Jaishankar in Mumbai, had said that the two countries are very close to an agreement. According to him, there are some issues pending for discussion, which are expected to be resolved soon. Piyush Goyal had also said last week that the first phase of the agreement is in the final stages. According to him, discussions on most of the issues have been completed and both the countries are now busy finalizing the remaining terms.
Differences over tariffs and Russian oil
Issues like import duty and India's continued purchase of oil from Russia remain challenges in finalizing the India-US trade agreement. After the talks broke down in August 2025, America had imposed duty of up to 50 percent on most of the Indian goods. After this, in February 2026, both the countries agreed on a framework, under which the duty rate was reduced to 18 percent. However, after this the pace of talks slowed down.
India demands fee equal to other countries
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had also admitted earlier this month that the pace of progress in talks had slowed down. India wants the final duty on its goods to be close to the duty applicable to other manufacturing countries like Vietnam, so that Indian companies can get a level playing field to compete in the international market.
Energy security and defense cooperation were also discussed in the meeting of Marco Rubio and S Jaishankar. Now all eyes are on how long the two countries will resolve the remaining issues and finalize the proposed trade agreement. Only after the final terms of the agreement are revealed, its actual benefits and impact on Indian industries can be assessed.