India-US trade deal: Piyush Goyal meets USTR Jamieson Greer, discusses next steps in BTA
On March 16, India said it would sign its proposed trade agreement with the United States once a new global tariff framework being developed by Washington becomes clear
Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Friday met with US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer to discuss the next steps in the India-US bilateral trade agreement (BTA) negotiations.
The two, who met on the sidelines of the 14th ministerial conference (MC14) of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) at Yaounde, Cameroon, also deliberated upon the issues related to the WTO's meeting.
Goyal wrote on his X official account, "Had a very productive discussion with @USTradeRep Jamieson Greer on the sidelines of the WTO Ministerial Conference. Exchanged views on the #WTOMC14 agenda, next steps in the India-US BTA negotiations and explored ways to further deepen our economic cooperation and bilateral trade ties."
Had a very productive discussion with @USTradeRep Jamieson Greer on the sidelines of the WTO Ministerial Conference.
Exchanged views on the #WTOMC14 agenda, next steps in the India-US BTA negotiations and explored ways to further deepen our economic cooperation and bilateral… pic.twitter.com/iVz0pNJZgS
— Piyush Goyal (@PiyushGoyal) March 27, 2026
Earlier, on March 16, India said it would sign its proposed trade agreement with the United States once a new global tariff framework being developed by Washington becomes clear. This indicated that the timeline for the deal is linked to evolving changes in the US tariff regime.
Rajesh Agarwal, Commerce Secretary in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, had said the US was currently working on a revised tariff architecture globally, which would form the basis for the eventual agreement.
“The US deal was to be signed in March. But tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act do not exist per se due to rulings by the Supreme Court of the United States,” Agarwal had said, indicating that the March deadline for signing the deal will no longer apply.
Agarwal had emphasised that the agreement would be concluded when the tariff framework stabilises. “Whenever we are ready, the US side is ready with the new tariff architecture. That will be the opportune time to sign the deal,” he had said.
