Kamal Ghorui
Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Thursday met with US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Ambassador Sergio Gor to discuss ways to expand the trade relationship between India and the United States.Goyal confirmed the talks in a statement on X, confirming discussions on trade expansion. “Hosted US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick & US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor. Engaged in very fruitful discussions to expand our trade and economic partnership.”Gor also called the meet “productive”, adding, “A highly productive lunch … so many areas of cooperation for our two nations!”Earlier this week, Goyal had said that trade talks between the two countries would resume once there was greater clarity, following the US Supreme Court’s invalidation of President Donald Trump’s tariffs.India and the US agreed early February on an initial framework to reduce US tariffs on Indian exports from 50 per cent to 18 per cent. In return, India indicated plans to purchase $500 billion worth of American goods over five years. The deal aimed to formalize a first phase while continuing discussions toward a broader bilateral trade agreement. However, the US Supreme Court recently invalidated Trump’s emergency tariffs, creating more negotiation space for India. In response, India has postponed a planned delegation trip to Washington that was intended to finalize the interim deal, though it is not reconsidering the agreement itself. Analysts note that India may now push for safeguards against future judicial or unilateral tariff actions, while still seeking to maintain trade ties and manage domestic energy and economic priorities. Trump has signaled that the U.S. will continue to collect tariffs from India, framing the deal as “fair” under his revised approach. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has described it as premature to comment on the ruling’s full impact, while Indian officials are cautiously evaluating next steps to protect commercial interests without disrupting bilateral relations.
