India says delegation had ‘constructive meetings’ with US govt, talks on for BTA deal

Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal held “constructive” meetings with the Trump administration on the bilateral trade agreement during his US visit earlier this week, a press release said on Thursday.

The delegation led by Goyal held discussions with Ambassador Jamieson Greer, United States Trade Representative and Sergio Gor, US Ambassador-designate to India. The visit happened as New Delhi and Washington make moves to reach a trade deal after President Donald Trump’s tariffs went into effect last month.

“The delegation had constructive meetings with the US Government on various aspects of the deal. Both sides exchanged views on possible contours of the deal and it was decided to continue the engagements with a view to achieve early conclusion of a mutually beneficial Trade Agreement,” the statement said.

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‘Ensure trade is not weaponised’

During his trip this week, Goyal called on the US not to “weaponise trade” as he attended the India-US strategic partnership forum in New York.

The minister also said that New Delhi expects to increase its trade with the US in energy products in the years to come, and the country’s energy security goals will have a significant element of US involvement.

“Clearly, the world recognises that (energy security) is one area where we all have to work together. India is a big player in the energy field… we are big importers of energy from across the world, including from the US,” Goyal said.

The ties between India and the US have been going through a rough patch after President Donald Trump increased tariffs on New Delhi for buying Russian oil, a move that he claims is “feeding” Moscow’s war machine.

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Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said Trump is open to “fixing” the punitive tariffs imposed on India. “We’ve already seen the measures we’ve taken with regards to India, although that’s something we hope we can fix. But – and the President has the ability to do more, and he’s considering doing more because of the direction this has taken,” he said.