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

LONDON : As the clock ticks towards U.S. President Donald Trump’s ‘reciprocal tariffs’ to kick in on July 9, Union Commerce Minister Shri 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 organised by the India Global Forum 2025 in London.

Goyal chose to not specifically mention the nature of the talks with the Americans while responding to a question on the timeline for a mini trade deal between India and US.

“Every negotiation stands on its own legs, every negotiation can only work when there is merit in a deal, it has to be a win-win for both parties, just like in business…until both get a fair, equitable and balanced transaction, no deal can ever be successful,” the minister said during a session of the India Global Forum in London.

Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal on June 16 had said that India is hopeful of concluding an early tranche of the proposed Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) with the United States before July 9, when President Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariffs kick in.

India and the US are holding talks to seal a scaled-down version of the BTA before Trump’s country-specific reciprocal tariff of 16 percent on New Delhi is levied. The countries held another round of in-person talks between June 5 and June 10 in New Delhi. Goyal added that India is working towards striking trade deals with many countries.

Apart from the US, India is looking to close an early harvest trade deal with the European Union by July, as well as is in talks with New Zealand Peru and Chile for bilateral agreements.