Goyal optimistic about signing first tranche of U.S. trade deal before July 9

Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal optimistic about India-U.S. trade deal before July 9 reciprocal tariffs, but no confirmation yet.

As the clock ticks towards U.S. President Donald Trump’s ‘reciprocal tariffs’ to kick in on July 9, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal has expressed optimism that India and the U.S. could sign a preliminary or early tranche of a larger trade deal before that date, though he stopped short of confirming a deal would be signed.

“We are in continuous dialogue. I have always been an optimist,” Mr Goyal said in an interview with The Hindu on the fringes of a conference organized by the India Global Forum 2025 in London. 

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“I’m very confident that, given that the US and India are very friendly countries, trusted partners, both wanting to have resilient, reliable, trusted supply chains, both vibrant democracies, we will be able to come up with a win-win for the businesses of both countries,” Mr Goyal added. Failure to sign such a deal would , as things stand, would result in Indian goods entering the U.S. being tariffed at 26% starting in early July.

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Mr Goyal did not comment on whether a deal on the sensitive dairy and agricultural goods sectors would form part of the preliminary tranche of the Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) under discussion with the U.S.

“I think negotiations are best left to the negotiators and the negotiating table. We will, of course, inform the media at the right time,” he said.