Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal met United States Trade Representative Jamieson Greer during the G20 Trade Ministers’ Meeting in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as India and the United States continue talks on an interim trade agreement.
Goyal said the meeting focused on moving towards an early conclusion of a mutually beneficial interim agreement under the proposed India-US Bilateral Trade Agreement. However, Greer later said that an agreement was not imminent and that both sides had identified several key issues that still needed to be resolved.
The meeting took place a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump spoke by phone. The two leaders reviewed cooperation between India and the US in areas including trade, defence, energy and critical technologies.
The trade talks are taking place amid differences over tariffs and India’s purchase of energy from Russia. The US Congress has authorised the possibility of higher tariffs on India over these purchases, although the final rate and coverage had not been announced at the time of the meeting.
G20 Trade Discussions
Goyal and Greer also discussed key issues being considered under the US presidency of the G20. These included food supply chains, excess production capacity, the Most-Favoured-Nation principle and forced labour in global supply chains.
On food security, Goyal said countries should ensure that food remains a source of security, stability and cooperation. He also said there should be a clear difference between the use of food supply chains for coercive trade actions and legitimate measures taken by countries to protect their domestic food-security needs.
The meeting also covered concerns about excess industrial capacity, particularly in the steel sector. A new framework discussed through the Global Forum on Steel Excess Capacity supports greater use of tariffs and fewer subsidies to deal with excess production.
Forced labour and trade practices were also part of the discussions. The United States is conducting Section 301 investigations involving India, including one related to structural excess capacity. A separate investigation concerning forced labour had already resulted in an additional US duty on Indian goods, according to reports.
India Discusses Trade With Other Countries
During the G20 meeting, Goyal also held discussions with European Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security Maros Sefcovic on progress in the India-European Union trade agreement.
He also met Poland’s Finance and Economy Minister Andrzej Domanski to discuss trade-related issues.
Goyal held talks with Brazilian officials on expanding India’s preferential trade agreement with the Mercosur bloc. He also met Mexico’s Economy Secretary Marcelo Ebrard to discuss increasing trade and investment between India and Mexico.
The discussions show that India is continuing to work on multiple trade partnerships while negotiations with the United States remain ongoing.
