After a US trade representative described India’s latest proposals among the best the US ever received as a country, Goyal on Thursday said that if Washington believes it has secured a favourable deal, it should “sign on the dotted line”
Hours after a US trade representative described India’s latest proposals among the best the US ever received as a country, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Thursday said that if Washington believes it has secured a favourable deal, it should “sign on the dotted line.”
Goyal’s comment came after US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer in a statement to a Senate Appropriations subcommittee described India’s latest proposals as among the “best we’ve ever received as a country” in the context of talks on expanding market access — especially for agricultural products.
US delegation, led by Deputy USTR Ambassador Rick Switzer, is currently in New Delhi for discussions on the bilateral trade package.
Asked to address this optimism, Goyal said, “That only the USTR can answer. His happiness is very much welcome. And I do believe that if they are very happy, they should be signing on the dotted line.”
Goyal said India and the US have already held several detailed rounds of talks.
“Negotiations are progressing well. We’ve had substantive discussions over multiple rounds — five so far,” MoneyControl quoted him as saying son the sidelines of an India–Italy joint press briefing.
He clarified that the current visit by Switzer, who recently took office, is not a formal negotiating round but an opportunity for officials to familiarise themselves and deepen exchanges.
“It’s his first visit to India. We’re getting to know each other. He met me as well, and we had very good substantive discussions,” Goyal said.
On timelines, Goyal reiterated that India will not enter talks bound by strict deadlines.
“A deal is only done when both sides stand to benefit. We should never negotiate with deadlines or hard stops because it tends to make mistakes,” Goyal was quoted as saying, indicating that although progress has been steady, New Delhi remains firm on achieving balanced outcomes.
This marks the second visit by a senior US official since President Donald Trump imposed a 25% additional tariff on Indian goods over New Delhi’s purchase of Russian oil — on top of an existing 25% tariff —making India one of the most heavily tariffed countries. India has since diversified its energy imports.
Separately, US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Allison Hooker concluded a five-day visit to India on December 11 to advance the “strategic partnership” between the two countries, the US Embassy said in a statement on Sunday.
New Delhi and Washington had originally aimed to finalise the first tranche of their trade agreement by this fall, but the two sides were unable to close the deal before the deadline.
Notably, the back-to-back visits by high-level US delegations come just days after Russian President Vladimir Putin’s trip to India.
With inputs from agencies
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