Piyush Goyal in US today: India eyes ‘mutually beneficial’ trade deal, early conclusion of talks

Amid the tariff tensions between India and the United States, India’s Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal will visit Washington, DC, on Monday. During the trip, Goyal would aim to get a “mutually beneficial” trade deal and ease tensions over the 50 per cent tariffs imposed on Indian goods due to New Delhi’s purchase of Russian oil.

“The delegation plans to take forward the discussions with a view to achieving early conclusion of a mutually beneficial trade agreement,” India’s Ministry of Commerce and Industry said in a statement late Saturday. Goyal last visited the US back in May this year, when he met his American counterpart, Howard Lutnick.

There have been signs of tensions simmering down after US President Donald Trump recently called Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his birthday. In the latest statement, the Ministry of Commerce noted that Goyal’s trip to the US is a follow-up to the American delegation’s visit to India on September 16, 2025.

“ Positive discussions were held on various aspects of the trade deal, and it was decided to intensify efforts in this regard,” the commerce ministry said about the outcome of the last visit.

Can we expect a positive outcome from the visit?

Despite tensions, Trump has constantly maintained that Prime Minister Modi continues to be his good friend, a sentiment reciprocated by the Indian PM.

Hours after claiming that the United States has “lost” India to China and Russia, Trump told reporters in the Oval Office that he and PM Modi will always remain friends despite tensions.

When asked whom he held responsible for losing India to China, as he claimed in an earlier post on Friday, the US President replied, “I don’t think we have. I’ve been very disappointed that India would be buying so much oil, as you know, from Russia. And I let them know that. We put a very big tariff on India. 50 per cent tariff, very high tariff.”

Despite criticisms, Trump admitted that he continues to have a personal relationship with Prime Minister Modi. “I get along very well with Modi, as you know. He’s great. He was here a couple of months ago,” Trump said.

The American leader went on to call PM Modi a ‘great prime minister’, reaffirming a “very special relationship” between India and the US. When asked by reporters whether he was ready to reset relations with India, Trump replied, “I always will. I’ll always be friends with (PM) Modi. He’s a great Prime Minister. I’ll always be friends, but I just don’t like what he is doing at this particular moment. But India and the United States have a very special relationship. There is nothing to worry about. We just have moments on occasion.”

At that time, Trump also expressed optimism over the trade negotiations between the two nations. “They are going great. Other countries are doing great. We are doing great with all of them,” he concluded.

Things are complicated

However, things are still not ‘hunky dory’ between the two nations. Goyal’s visit to the US came amid Trump’s relentless pressure on Europe to increase sanctions on both India and China, the biggest buyers of Russian oil.

Apart from this, Trump has recently ordered to slap a $100,000 application fee for the H-1B visas, raising concerns among the Indian workforce operating in the United States. In response to this, the Indian government said the move will likely have “humanitarian consequences by way of the disruption caused for families.”

Earlier this year, the US and India maintained that the bilateral agreement between the two nations would be finalised by the fall this year. However, negotiations halted after both sides hardened their positions and Trump began putting pressure on New Delhi over its ties with Moscow.

One of the major points of contention between the two nations is the fact that Washington is seeking greater access to India’s dairy and farm sectors, which New Delhi is reluctant to open up.

With inputs from agencies.