Indian government sources recently revealed to local media that India and the United States are "very close" to reaching a free trade agreement and are fine-tuning the details of the trade agreement. At the same time, Indian Minister of Commerce and Industry Peyush Goyal emphasized when attending an event in Germany on October 24 that India would not rush to sign any trade agreements.
According to the Times, India and the United States have so far held five rounds of negotiations on the first phase of the bilateral trade agreement. Sources told the Indian News Trust (PTI) that India and the United States have found common ground on most issues. The official said: “In terms of the agreement, we are very close to agreeing.” He also stressed that only a very small number of differences between the two countries remain to be resolved.
At the same time, Pujusz Goyal told the Berlin Dialogue meeting in Germany: "We are in active dialogue with the EU and we are talking with the United States, but we will not rush to reach an agreement, nor will we sign any deals under set deadlines or forced pressure." He declared that trade agreements should be viewed from a long-term perspective. When asked about fair trade terms, he replied: "I don't think India has ever decided who its friends are based on anything other than national interests... If someone tells me that India cannot be friends with the EU, I will not accept it; if someone tells me tomorrow that I cannot work with Kenya, that's equally unacceptable."
According to Xinhua News Agency's previous report, one of the main differences in the trade negotiations between India and the United States is India's unwillingness to open its agricultural and dairy markets. Under the pressure and disputes between India and the United States, such as "reciprocal tariffs", "Russian crude oil procurement disputes" and "Russia-related sanctions", Piyush Goyal once made a relatively tough statement to the United States, emphasizing that India's trade agreements need to be in line with its own interests, not just to reach an agreement before the deadline.
Currently, U.S. President Trump's administration has imposed a 50% tariff on Indian exports, part of which targets India's crude oil imports from Russia. In the past few days, Trump has repeatedly claimed that India will stop purchasing Russian crude oil in the next few months, but such reports have been denied by India. Trump also imposed sanctions on two major Russian oil companies, Rosneft and Lukoil. Since May, India's exports to the United States have declined for four consecutive months. Industries hardest hit include key areas such as textiles, gems and jewelry, engineering products and chemicals.
According to sources quoted by the Indian Times on October 21, the Indian-U.S. agreement is expected to reduce the punitive tariffs on up to 50% of Indian exports to 15%-16% according to the report. The report also said that energy and agriculture are the core topics and key points in the negotiations, and India either agreed to gradually reduce oil imports from Russia in exchange for US tariff concessions. According to the Indian Times, the first phase of the trade agreement is expected to be finalized between October and November. The agreement aims to increase bilateral trade to $500 billion by 2030.