New Delhi, February 26 Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Thursday that he had held a meeting with US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick and US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor, and discussed ways to expand trade relations between the two countries.
"Met US Secretary of Commerce @HowardLutnick & @USAmbIndia Sergio Gor. Had very productive discussions to strengthen our trade and economic partnership," Goyal said in a social media post.
The meeting is of great importance as both countries are looking to finalize the legal text for the first phase of a bilateral trade agreement.
The chief negotiators from both sides were scheduled to meet this week in Washington to finalize the legal text for the agreement, but it was postponed following a Supreme Court order striking down President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs.
Following the court order, the US imposed 10 per cent tariffs on all countries for 150 days, effective from February 24. Trump has announced that he will increase it to 15 per cent, but there is no official order on that yet.
On Tuesday, Goyal had said, "As soon as" there is more clarity on the tariffs issue in the US, India will resume trade talks with America.
In a major setback to Trump's economic agenda in his second term, the US Supreme Court ruled that the tariffs imposed by Trump on nations around the world were illegal, and that the president had exceeded his authority when he imposed the sweeping levies using the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) of 1977.
The US had imposed a 25 per cent reciprocal tariff on India in August 2025. Later, an additional 25 per cent duty was imposed on the purchase of Russian crude oil, taking the total tariffs on India to 50 per cent.
India and the US had agreed on a framework to finalize an interim trade deal, under which Washington will reduce tariffs to 18 per cent. To sign and implement the first phase of the bilateral trade agreement, the framework has to be converted into a legal document.
In 2021-25, the US was India's largest trading partner in goods. The US accounts for about 18 per cent of India's total exports, 6.22 per cent of its imports, and 10.73 per cent of its bilateral trade.
In 2024-25, bilateral trade was worth USD 86.5 billion in exports and USD 45.3 billion in imports.
