India-US trade deal likely in 'not too distant future': Howard Lutnick gives BIG update on bilateral trade agreement

US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick on Monday said that a trade deal between India and the US could happen in the "not too distant future" since the two countries found "a place that really works" for both of them. 

"You should expect a deal between the United States and India in the not too distant future because I think we found a place that really works for both countries," Lutnick said in his keynote address at the eighth edition of the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF).

US President Donald Trump has set a deadline of July 9 for countries to avoid sweeping tariffs. Lutnick said that he was a "great fan" of India but voiced concerns about New Delhi's use of tariffs. 

Speaking on tariff negotiations with India, "Bringing them down to a level that is reasonable and appropriate so we can be great trading partners with each other, I think is absolutely on the table," Lutnick noted. 

Commenting on the high tariffs levied by India, Lutnick said that the POTUS is willing to call that out straight away. 

“Now the President is willing to call out things straight away, meaning India is very protectionist with tariffs. They have a 100 per cent tariff on this, and a 100% tariff on that. And if you ask them why, the answer is, ‘I don't know why. It just is’.”

Lutnick's comments come as a team of US officials is visiting India this week to hold discussions on the proposed interim trade agreement between the two countries. Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal also visited Washington recently to give a push to the trade talks.

Goyal said that India and the US aim to provide preferential market access to their respective businesses as teams from both nations actively collaborate on the proposed bilateral trade agreement. Commenting on Trump's announcement to raise tariffs on steel and aluminium to 50 per cent, the Union minister said both countries would continue bilateral efforts to address these issues. 

"Let us wait and watch...  both the US and India share good relations and we will continue to work together to resolve all these issues bilaterally," Goyal said. As both sides are working to finalise an interim trade before July 8, India is seeking a complete exemption from the additional 26 per cent tariff imposed by the US on its goods.

In February this year, Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced plans to negotiate the first tranche of a mutually beneficial Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) by September-October 2025. The agreement between the two countries is aimed at more than doubling bilateral trade from the current $191 billion to $500 billion by 2030.