US trade team extends India stay as talks gather momentum

A US trade team that’s currently in India for negotiations has extended its stay, according to people familiar with the matter, in a sign talks are progressing ahead of a July deadline.

The team, which was initially scheduled to hold talks with Indian officials on June 5-6, will now be staying till Tuesday to continue discussions, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information isn’t public. Most of the issues may get finalized within a week, the people estimated.

India and the US are working on a phased trade deal with an early agreement targeted for July, the deadline for implementation of the so-called reciprocal tariffs. At the same time, those tariffs are facing legal challenges in Washington.

India’s Commerce Ministry and the US Trade Representative’s office in Washington didn’t respond to email requests for comment outside of regular business hours. Local Indian media earlier reported the extension of the visit.

Indian Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal described his meeting with US counterpart Howard Lutnick during a visit to the US in May as “constructive.” Earlier this month, Lutnick said he’s “very optimistic” about prospects for a trade deal between the US and India “in the not-too-distant future.”

India was one of the first countries to begin negotiating a trade deal with the US, hoping to avert President Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariffs, which are scheduled to kick in on July 9.

The talks come against the backdrop of recent statements by Goyal in Paris on June 1, where he outlined that India and the United States are working toward providing preferential market access to their respective businesses.

On Trump's plan to increase tariffs on steel and aluminium to 50%, Goyal told ANI that both countries remain committed to addressing trade issues through bilateral dialogue.

"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.

(With inputs from ANI)