Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal on Thursday said India-US trade deal has already been finalised, but it won’t take effect until New Delhi secures a distinct tariff edge over competitors manufacturing economies like Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines, China, Malaysia, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka.
“Until that framework of getting that competitive advantage can be finalised, we can’t enter into force a US deal. How the US will find the appropriate tools and legal backing to give us that competitive advantage over our competition, the day that happens, the deal is on,” he said.
The Minister was addressing the global business leaders at the India Global Forum’s UK-India Week 2026: Capital Frontiers conference in London.
His remarks follow meetings with US Trade Representative Ambassador Jamieson Greer in New Delhi on June 22–24, during which both parties discussed important aspects of the proposed agreement such as improved market access, digital trade, supply chain resilience, lowering non-tariff barriers, and increased collaboration in key areas.
Goyal explained the idea behind trade agreements, saying that an FTA (free trade agreement) is essentially about gaining a comparative advantage over your competitors in order to gain access to markets.
He stated that there is no doubt that the agreement has been reached by all parties and that the only things left to finish are the specific legal and tariff framework.
“I don’t think anyone has any doubts about our deal, which was completed on February 6. Both the US and India have confirmed it. There is usually some give and take, but the broad contours were set at that time, and our teams have been working to finalize the fine print ever since," he highlighted.
Following months of tariff tensions, India and the US came to an interim trade agreement back in February.
Under this framewrok, the United States agreed to reduce taxes on Indian exports from 25 percent to 18 percent. India agreed to increase market access for some US products and strengthen collaboration in areas including energy and defence, while an additional 25 per cent levy on Indian items connected to imports of Russian crude was immediately lifted.
India was subject to a 50 per cent tariff. The minister clarified, “We had negotiated a deal to reduce the 50 per cent tariffs to 18 per cent, and the whole deal was centered around the competitive advantage we got with that 18 pe rcent over our neighbors and competing countries."
