NEW DELHI, Feb 27 – India is working to negotiate the most favorable trade agreement possible with the United States to maintain a competitive advantage, according to the country’s trade minister on Friday. This comes as previously finalized trade deals face uncertainty following the invalidation of President Donald Trump’s tariff policies.
Trade Minister Piyush Goyal told CNN-News18 that New Delhi plans to monitor the Trump administration’s approach to tariffs while actively pursuing the “best possible opportunities” in negotiations with the United States.
During an unexpected meeting on Thursday, Goyal held discussions about trade and economic cooperation with US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick over lunch in New Delhi. Lutnick’s private trip to India had not been announced publicly, making the meeting a surprise.
Trump issued warnings to countries earlier this week against abandoning recently negotiated trade agreements with the US, following a Supreme Court decision that struck down his emergency tariffs and limited his legal power to implement broad international tariffs.
Following the court ruling, Trump has implemented a temporary 10% tariff on all countries, including India, with plans to increase it to 15% – the highest level permitted under current legal authority.
The future of Trump’s international trade agreements remains unclear, as China calls for the elimination of tariff measures, the European Union has frozen its approval process, and India has postponed scheduled negotiations.
According to Goyal, he will not establish a specific timeframe for completing trade agreements. Previously, New Delhi and Washington had targeted March for signing a formal agreement.
India postponed sending a trade delegation to Washington following the Supreme Court’s tariff ruling last week.
Before the court decision, both nations had reached agreement on a framework that would reduce US tariffs on India from 50% to 18% – the original rate had included a 25% penalty tariff related to New Delhi’s purchases of Russian oil.
