India-US trade deal ‘very close’, but tariff edge remains key: Minister Piyush Goyal

VoM News Desk | June 25, 2026 | 10:41 PM IST | Breaking News, India, World | Follow on Google News

India-US trade deal ‘very close’, but tariff edge remains key: Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal

VoM News Desk, June 25, 2026: The deal will not be brought to India unless the country finds it offers a tariff edge over its competitors, stated Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal.

New Delhi is very close to signing the first phase of its trade agreement with the U.S. And the country won’t agree without a comparative advantage over other exporters, he said at India Global Forum UK-India Week in London. “In any trade agreement that India makes, we have to ensure that it actually opens up the market access as opposed to existing competitive accessing in relation to our competitors.

So we could go forward, we can sign the deal and move towards the agreement provided there is a clear policy and a legal framework in place ensuring India gets that edge,” Goyal stated.

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“Initially, there were provisions where there was an 18 per cent difference in terms of tariffs, which was then expected to be 19-20 per cent on comparable basis compared with the rates prevailing in the case of some other competitor economies. Today, U.S. Is imposing a flat rate under its temporary tariff regime that leads to an additional 10% uniform tax, thus whittling away our competitive advantage.

Therefore, a deal will depend upon how this competitive disadvantage can be compensated for…by granting Indian exporters a preference over competitors like China, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, China, Sri Lanka,” the minister said, after New Delhi meetings with U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer.

In recent weeks, India has also been lobbying for clarity on tariffs imposed by the U.S. Under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act after certain legal challenges were raised against these.

VoM News Desk

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