New Delhi, Feb 26 (PTI) Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Thursday said he held a meeting with US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and US Ambassador to India Sergio Gore and discussed ways to expand trade ties between the two countries.
“I hosted US Secretary of Commerce @HowardLutnick and @USAmbIndia Sergio Gore. We engaged in very productive discussions to expand our trade and economic partnership,” Goyal said in a social media post.
The meeting holds great importance as the two countries look to finalize the legal text of the first phase of the bilateral trade agreement.
Senior negotiators from both sides were scheduled to meet this week in Washington to finalize the legal text of the agreement, but the meeting was postponed after the US Supreme Court ordered the cancellation of comprehensive tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump.
Following the court order, the United States imposed 10% tariffs on all countries for 150 days starting February 24. Trump announced an increase to 15%, but there is no official order in this regard yet.
Goyal had said on Tuesday that “once” there was more clarity on the US tariff front, India would resume trade talks with America.
In a major setback for Trump’s pivotal economic agenda in his second term, the US Supreme Court ruled that the tariffs Trump imposed on countries around the world were illegal and that the president exceeded his authority when he imposed the sweeping tariffs using the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).
The US had imposed a 25% reciprocal tariff on India in August 2025. Later, an additional 25% duty was imposed on the purchase of Russian crude oil, raising the total tariffs on India to 50%.
Earlier this month, India and the United States agreed on a framework to finalize an interim trade deal, under which Washington will reduce tariffs to 18 percent. To sign and implement the first phase of the bilateral trade agreement, the framework must be converted into a legal document.
During 2021-2025, the US was India’s largest trading partner in goods. The United States represents about 18% of India’s total exports, 6.22% of its imports, and 10.73% of its bilateral trade.
In 2024-25, bilateral trade volume reached US$86.5 billion in exports and US$45.3 billion in imports.
