Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal provided an "encouraging update" on India-US trade negotiations, assuring industry leaders that an interim agreement is close during a closed-door roundtable interaction with the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF). According to Business Standard, Goyal discussed ways to further deepen India-US trade, investment and supply-chain partnerships during the interaction with over 50 prominent business and industry leaders. A team from the US is set to visit India from June 1-4 to finalise details of the interim trade pact and take forward negotiations under the broader bilateral trade agreement on various areas such as market access, non-tariff measures, and customs facilitation. USISPF noted that as the negotiating team heads to India early next week, it "wishes both governments a productive and successful round of negotiations."
US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor confirmed that the interim trade agreement is "on the table for us to finalise" and expects the deal to be signed "over next few weeks and months." Speaking in Delhi on Thursday, Gor emphasized that "Our current interim trade agreement is on the table for us to finalise that will unlock prosperity for both of our countries." The ambassador highlighted the "limitless potential to take forward US-India relations" and noted that "There is opportunity to transform US-India relations into a more seamless economic relationship." Gor added that "No bilateral partnership is better positioned to take advantage of emerging opportunities, particularly in the technology sector." This timeline aligns with Goyal's earlier assurances about the imminent conclusion of negotiations.
During his transit through New York on May 28, Goyal held one-to-one meetings with leading US business executives including Harvey Schwartz, Ted Pick, Charles Kaye, Chintu Patel, and Michael Miebach. According to the Ministry of Commerce & Industry, the engagements were held as India continues to position itself as a major global investment destination and seeks deeper industry-to-industry collaboration with the United States. The discussions focused on increasing investment opportunities in India, improving supply chain resilience and advancing partnerships in emerging technologies and innovation-driven sectors. Discussions during the meetings focused on boosting India-US trade and investment ties and expanding cooperation in sectors such as financial services, healthcare, manufacturing, artificial intelligence and digital payments. The minister also addressed a gathering of more than 50 business leaders from the investment and trade community at an interaction organised with the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum, focusing on India's economic growth trajectory, ongoing reforms, ease of doing business and emerging opportunities for collaboration across key sectors.
India and Canada have adopted a pragmatic approach to their Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) negotiations, focusing on low-hanging fruit and areas of convergence while avoiding sensitive sectors. According to The Times of India, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal confirmed that "we won't make perfect the enemy of the good" during negotiations with Canada's Trade Minister Maninder Sidhu. Speaking at the Ontario Centre of Innovation on May 27, Goyal emphasized that "Let's capture the low-hanging fruit. Let's look at areas of convergence. Let's leave the sensitive things out of the agreement." The minister clarified that "if something is sensitive for Canada, no sense in trying to egg on and trying to get that into the CEPA" and similarly, "if something is sensitive for India or the Indian public or Indian businesses, no sense that we break our heads trying to navigate that path." India generally does not provide market access in sensitive sectors such as agriculture and dairy under trade agreements.
Goyal led a business delegation of over 150 members to Canada from May 25-27 to seek investments, enhance collaborations and give impetus to talks for the proposed free trade agreement (FTA). Following Goyal's visit to Canada, VFS Global Head of Americas Amit Kumar Sharma said in a statement to PTI that the visit and the strong business engagement accompanying it "reflects a renewed momentum in the India-Canada relationship at a critically important time." Sharma added that "What this ultimately drives is greater mobility of students, entrepreneurs, investors, skilled professionals, and families across one of the world's most important people-to-people corridors." He emphasized that "The true strength of any bilateral relationship is measured not only by trade, but by the ease and confidence with which people can move across borders. As mobility demand continues to grow, the focus must now shift toward building operational capacity, trusted systems, and seamless customer experiences that can support this next phase of engagement between the two nations."
Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Shri Piyush Goyal concluded his landmark three-day visit to Canada on May 28, delivering an address at the prestigious Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy at the University of Toronto. According to the Ministry of Commerce & Industry, the visit reinforced the sustained momentum in the India-Canada economic partnership and highlighted India as a premier global destination for investment, technology collaboration, and long-term partnerships. The minister emphasized that bilateral trade currently stands at around USD 17 billion, with both countries committed to expanding it to USD 50 billion by 2030. This ambitious target represents a nearly three-fold increase in bilateral trade over the next five years, demonstrating the growing economic potential between the two nations. As reported by UNI, both governments remain committed to their shared and ambitious target of expanding bilateral trade to USD 50 billion by 2030.
