India is seeking preferential access to the US market as negotiations enter a detailed phase, while New Delhi advances trade talks with partners across Latin America, Africa and the Gulf.
India’s commerce and industry minister, Piyush Goyal, said the proposed trade agreement with the United States could give Indian exporters an edge over rivals and improved access to the American market, as New Delhi pushes to lock in gains from a wider network of free trade pacts.
Speaking at a late-night briefing in India, Goyal said the talks were moving into a more detailed phase and suggested the country would secure “preferential access” in the US if the deal is completed. Business Standard reported that Indian officials were in Washington to discuss the first phase of the bilateral agreement, with the focus on mechanisms that would improve market access for domestic goods. Earlier reports from the same publication and from NDTV said the central issue in the talks is whether Washington will offer tariff terms that are at least as favourable as those enjoyed by India’s competitors, including Vietnam and Bangladesh.
The US agreement has been under discussion in some form since Donald Trump’s first term, when limited trade talks began in 2018 before stalling under Joe Biden. Negotiations were revived after Trump returned to office, and Goyal has said most of the broad issues have now been settled, with the two sides working through the remaining details. According to Business Standard, he has repeatedly framed the talks as part of a broader effort to secure preferential market access for Indian products in the US.
Goyal linked the American talks to a wider push by India to widen its commercial reach through trade agreements with other regions. He said a pact with Chile was close to completion, Mexico was seeking an early harvest arrangement, and negotiations with Canada were making progress. He also pointed to talks with Mercosur, Ecuador, several African countries and the Southern African Customs Union, while saying discussions with the Gulf Cooperation Council could take longer because of instability in West Asia.
The minister also said the government was trying to institutionalise its trade strategy so that expertise built during one negotiation could be carried into the next. He said officials had prepared standard operating procedures and detailed documentation to preserve experience as staff rotate through postings. Goyal also said India would continue to trade with China on a reciprocal basis, while noting the importance of Chinese intermediate goods and raw materials to Indian industry. Government data cited by Livemint showed bilateral trade with China at $151.09 billion in 2025-26, with imports from China accounting for $131.62 billion and India running a substantial deficit.
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