India Secures Best Trade Deal with US Amidst Global Competition

India Secures Best Trade Deal with US Among Competing Nations, Says Piyush Goyal​

New Delhi, March 7: Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Saturday that India has secured the best trade deal with the United States compared with other competing nations, highlighting the strong and multi-dimensional relationship between the two countries.

Speaking at the Raisina Dialogue 2026 in New Delhi, Goyal described the India US partnership as powerful and strategic, emphasizing that the relationship extends far beyond trade.

Strong India US Relationship​

Goyal said the ties between the two nations have strengthened significantly in recent years. He pointed out that US President Donald Trump has consistently praised India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the past year.

“It has been a fantastic journey. We have the best of relations. You would have observed that over the past year, President Donald Trump has consistently praised India as a country, and Prime Minister Modi. We have fantastic relations with our counterparts there,” he said.

He also acknowledged that occasional disagreements are natural even in strong partnerships.

“Even within your family, you may sometimes have one or two misunderstandings. It is part of the process. I think it is a very powerful relationship that the US and India share,” he said.

India Gets Preferential Access in Trade Deal​

Explaining the significance of the trade agreement, Goyal said that trade deals are essentially about securing preferential access for goods and services compared to competitors.

“What is a trade deal? You are trying to get a preference or preferential access for yourself, your goods, your services, compared to your competitor. And we got the best deal amongst all the competing nations,” he said.

According to the minister, India has secured more favourable terms than several competing economies in its region.

“I mean whether it is 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.

Strategic Partnership Beyond Trade​

Goyal said the India US relationship is broad-based and includes several critical areas beyond trade.

He highlighted cooperation in technology, critical minerals, defence, and investment flows between the two countries.

“There is a huge technology overlay on it. There is a huge critical minerals partnership, there is a defence partnership, there is a huge amount of investment that flows into India from the US,” he said.

He added that the partnership between the two democracies will play a major role in shaping the global future.

Context of the Bilateral Trade Agreement​

Goyal’s remarks come after India and the United States finalised the framework for the first phase of a bilateral trade agreement.

Under the arrangement, the US had earlier announced a reduction in reciprocal tariffs on India to 18 percent.

However, after the US Supreme Court struck down those tariffs, President Donald Trump imposed a 10 percent tariff on all countries from February 24 for a period of 150 days.

Meanwhile, a meeting between the chief negotiators of India and the United States to finalise the legal text of the agreement has been postponed.