New Delhi, Mar 7 (PTI) India has secured the best trade deal with the US compared to its competing nations, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Saturday, noting that the two countries share a “very powerful” relationship.
He said that the US is the world’s largest economy – USD 30 trillion – and nobody can wish it away.
“It has been a fantastic journey. We have the best of relations. You would have observed that through the last year, President Donald Trump has always had the best things to say about India as a country, and about Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi. We have fantastic relations with our counterparts there.
“Even within your family, sometimes you can have one or two misunderstandings. It’s a part of the course. I think it’s a very, very powerful relationship that the US and India share. And we got the best deal amongst all the nations with whom we compete,” Goyal said when asked about the trade relations with the US.
He was speaking at Raisina Dialogue 2026 here.
The minister added that India and the US are strategic partners, and the two are the largest democracies in the world.
“We have a large responsibility cast on both our nations. They are the world’s largest economy, USD 30 trillion economy, nobody can wish them away,” he said.
He said that ultimately a trade deal is about preference over competitors.
“What’s a trade deal? You are trying to get a preference or a preferential access for yourself, your goods, your services, compared to your competitor. And we got the best deal amongst all the competing nations. I mean whether it’s in our neighbourhood Pakistan or Bangladesh. If we look at the Asian region, we got the best deal amongst all of the competitors…” Goyal said.
He added that the India-US relationship is strong, multi-dimensional, and not only about trade as there is a huge technology overlay on it.
“There’s a huge critical minerals partnership, there’s a defense partnership, there’s a huge amount of investments that flow into India from the US. So it’s a partnership of two countries which is going to define the future,” he said.
These remarks are important as the two countries have finalised the framework for the first phase of the bilateral trade agreement. Under the deal, the US had announced to reduce reciprocal tariffs on India to 18 per cent.
However, following the US Supreme Court striking down the tariffs, Trump imposed 10 per cent tariffs on all countries from February 24 for 150 days.
A meeting between chief negotiators of the two countries to finalise the legal text for the agreement has been postponed.
Under the deal, India will eliminate or reduce tariffs on all US industrial goods and a wide range of American food and agricultural products, including dried distillers’ grains (DDGs), red sorghum for animal feed, tree nuts, fresh and processed fruit, soybean oil, wine and spirits, and additional products.
India has also stated that it intends to purchase USD 500 billion of US energy products, aircraft and aircraft parts, precious metals, technology products, and coking coal over the next five years.
Talking about the nine free trade agreements (FTAs) that the Modi government has finalised, Goyal said the government has protected national interests, and has opened doors for Indian businesses.
“These nine free trade agreements, I can say on record with all the courage that I have on my command with all the responsibility that in not a single trade deal, has India compromised on any sensitivity of any of our stakeholders,” he said.
Opposition parties have alleged that the government has compromised the interests of farmers in the India-US trade pact.
He added that opening of the auto sector in some FTAs will provide choices to consumers in the country and create jobs. India has agreed to provide duty concessions in the sector under its trade pacts with the UK and European Union.
“Demand for this industry is growing at an average of 8 per cent. So you can imagine how much more scope we have to create jobs,” he said.
Goyal added that auto firms in the FTA partners may initially export cars to India to test the domestic market here, but once they “find the sweet spot of what sells in India, ultimately, they will have to manufacture in India”.
It will be difficult for expensive European cars to compete with Indian companies here.
“Initially they can sell, say, 5,000 cars or 10,000 cars, to test the market, find the distraction — and then come and manufacture here,” he said.
He said the approach has been to create the worldwide web of trade partnerships through these FTAs. PTI RR TRB
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