Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal on Tuesday confirmed that India is currently engaged in negotiations with the United States to finalize a bilateral trade agreement. His remarks came just a day after former US President Donald Trump criticized New Delhi, calling the Indo-US economic relationship a “one-sided disaster” and openly objecting to India’s continued oil trade with Russia.
Trump launched his attack on Monday evening following Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit, which drew significant global attention. In a post shared on Truth Social, Trump alleged that Washington had been at a disadvantage for decades in its trade dealings with New Delhi, blaming India’s high tariff barriers for restricting American exports. He argued that while India exported large volumes of goods to the US, American businesses were unable to penetrate the Indian market due to what he described as excessively high duties.
According to Trump, India’s trade policies had created a severely imbalanced relationship. He claimed that the US was India’s largest client, importing “massive amounts of goods,” but in return, America exported very little. He further argued that India had historically imposed the highest tariffs among all major economies, leaving American companies with no real chance to compete in the Indian marketplace. Calling the situation a “totally one-sided disaster,” he insisted that the imbalance had existed for many decades.
Trump also claimed that India had recently agreed to reduce tariffs, even suggesting that New Delhi was now offering zero tariffs. However, he dismissed the move as coming too late, insisting that such measures should have been taken years earlier. Referring to this development, Trump remarked that the new Indian offer was “too little, too late” and urged people to reflect on the broader implications of the situation.
The strain in India-US relations has been further aggravated by Washington’s own trade policies. During Trump’s tenure, his administration imposed a 25% tariff on Indian goods, which was later doubled. On the energy front, Trump repeatedly demanded that India stop importing crude oil from Russia, but New Delhi firmly rejected the pressure. Indian officials maintained that decisions on energy imports are taken based on national interest and market realities, stressing that the country’s priority is to secure affordable energy for its citizens.
Amid these tensions, formal trade negotiations between India and the US were launched in March this year and have since gone through five rounds of discussions. However, the process has faced hurdles. After the US decided to impose a 50% tariff on August 27, the American delegation canceled its scheduled visit for the sixth round of talks, which had been planned for August 25. As of now, the two sides have yet to finalize new dates for the continuation of negotiations, leaving the outcome of the trade talks uncertain.
