With an interim deal expected early July, US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick Monday said a trade agreement between India and the United States could happen in the “not too distant future” because “we found a place that really works for both countries.”
He was speaking at the eighth edition of the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF) in Washington D C. This is the first time that business leaders from the QUAD grouping of Australia, India, Japan and the US will be honoured at the USISPF summit.
I spoke at the U.S.-India Strategic Partnership Forum Annual Leadership Summit tonight.
We have a great relationship between our countries. I’m optimistic for a trade deal soon that will benefit both nations.
🇺🇸🇮🇳 pic.twitter.com/BCO8UYx7Wc
— Howard Lutnick (@howardlutnick) June 3, 2025
This comes days after US President Donald Trump on Friday made a similar statement, saying that the US is “very close to making a deal with India”.
“When they put the right person in India, put the right person on the other side of the table, and we’ve managed (that), I think,” Lutnick said in his keynote address.
In a post on X which has his video statement, he added: “We have a great relationship between our countries. I’m optimistic for a trade deal soon that will benefit both nations.”
In the last week of May, ndia’s Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal led the Indian delegation to Washington, where he met Lutnick to to push bilateral trade negotiations forward. India is seeking the elimination of the 26 per cent reciprocal tariff and duty-free entry for labour-intensive export items such as textiles and footwear in the US.
What Trump said on India-US deal
On Friday, Trump had also cautioned that continued tensions between India and Pakistan could jeopardise progress.
“Pakistan representatives are coming in next week. We’re very close to making a deal with India. And I wouldn’t have any interest in making a deal with either if they were going to be at war with each other,” he said, speaking to reporters at Joint Base Andrews.
–With PTI inputs