Expect India-US trade deal in not too distant future… very optimistic: Trump admin’s Commerce Secretary
With an interim deal expected early July, US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick Monday said a trade agreement between India and the United States could happen in “not too distant future” because “we found a place that really works for both countries”.
He was speaking at the eighth edition of the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF) in Washington D C. This is the first time that business leaders from the QUAD grouping of Australia, India, Japan and the US will be honoured at the USISPF summit.
I spoke at the U.S.-India Strategic Partnership Forum Annual Leadership Summit tonight.
We have a great relationship between our countries. I’m optimistic for a trade deal soon that will benefit both nations.
🇺🇸🇮🇳 pic.twitter.com/BCO8UYx7Wc
— Howard Lutnick (@howardlutnick) June 3, 2025
This comes days after US President Donald Trump on Friday made a similar statement, saying that the US is “very close to making a deal with India”.
“When they put the right person in India, put the right person on the other side of the table, and we’ve managed (that), I think,” Lutnick said in his keynote address.
In a post on X which has his video statement, he added: “We have a great relationship between our countries. I’m optimistic for a trade deal soon that will benefit both nations.”
In the last week of May, India’s Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal led a delegation to Washington, where he met Lutnick to push for bilateral trade negotiation. India is seeking the elimination of the 26 per cent reciprocal tariff and duty-free entry for labour-intensive export items such as textiles and footwear in the US.
What Trump said on India-US deal
On Friday, Trump had also cautioned that continued tensions between India and Pakistan could jeopardise progress.
“Pakistan representatives are coming in next week. We’re very close to making a deal with India. And I wouldn’t have any interest in making a deal with either if they were going to be at war with each other,” he said, speaking to reporters at Joint Base Andrews.
–With PTI inputs
