In a significant step toward strengthening bilateral relations, India and the United States have held high-level trade talks aimed at salvaging and recalibrating a proposed bilateral trade agreement after changes in US tariff policy disrupted a framework negotiated earlier this year. US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer is on two-day India visit for talks with Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal to advance negotiations on the proposed India-US trade agreement. Goyal met Greer as both sides sought to conclude an interim trade pact before July 24, 2026, when Washington’s temporary 10 per cent tariff on imports from trading partners is set to expire.
Greer’s visit comes days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump held their first meeting in over a year on the sidelines of the G7 summit in France on June 17, 2026, adding fresh momentum to trade negotiations that both sides consider critical to strengthening economic ties. The US Embassy in India described the bilateral trade partnership as a win-win for both countries. It added that the US remains focused on securing a fair, reciprocal trade agreement that opens markets for American exporters and delivers benefits to both nations.
The talks between the ministers focused on reworking a framework agreement announced on February 13, 2025, which was built around tariff commitments later rendered uncertain by a US Supreme Court ruling striking down sweeping tariffs imposed under Trump. Meanwhile, the US was India’s second-largest trading partner in 2025-26. India’s exports to the US rose marginally by 0.92 per cent to $87.3 billion during the last fiscal year despite high tariffs, while imports increased 15.95 per cent to $52.9 billion. As a result, India’s trade surplus with the US declined to $34.4 billion in 2025-26 from $40.89 billion in 2024-25.
