Indian Minister Pius Goyal says “fantastic” progress in conversations with us

India has made “fantastic progress” in its talks about a trade deal with the United States, said Commerce Minister Piusha Goyal.

The Minister made the comments in London after signed a remarkable free trade deal with the United Kingdom on Thursday.

Goyal’s optimistic statement comes against the background of Washington and Delhi, who missed several deadlines to finalize the deal.

US President Donald Trump has set August 1 as a deadline for several countries, including India, to sign a trade deal or to stand against steep rates.

Trump for the first time announced 26% of Indian goods rates on April 2 as part of a broader course of trade policy. While the tariffs were initially stopped until July 9, the United States later extended the deadline until August 1.

Indian delegations made numerous trips to the United States to finalize details of the deal.

Last week Trump looked just as optimistic, saying that Washington and Delhi are “Very close” until finalization A temporary trade agreement. The two countries aim to achieve a bilateral deal by the end of this year.

Speaking to the Reuters Information Agency on Thursday, Goyal said The fact that India is making “fantastic progress” in talks on trade deals with the United States.

“I hope we will be able to complete a very subsequent partnership,” he added.

When asked about the main point of sticking India – a lower tariffs for agriculture and dairy products – Goyal said “negotiations are happening in the negotiating hall”. However, he added that India could still pursue a comprehensive deal if smaller sectoral agreements could be reached, according to Reuters.

The minister expressed confidence To Bloomberg, saying he believes India and the US will reach a deal before the deadline. However, it remains unclear how they will resolve key issues that have been postponing negotiations for months.

Washington has been pushing for more access to the farm sector in India for years, considering it as a major unused market. But India protected her furiously, citing food security, livelihood and interests of millions of small farmers.

Until recently, the US was the largest trading partner in India, with bilateral trade reaching $ 190 billion. Trump and Modi have set themselves the goal to double that figure to $ 500 billion.

India has already reduced the tariffs of a number of goods – including whiskey from bourbon and motorcycles – but the US continues to manage a $ 45 billion trade deficit ($ 33 billion) with India, which Trump is eager to reduce.