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26-10-2025
Bureau Report
NEW DELHI: India will not accept limits on its trading choices or rush to sign agreements, Trade Minister Piyush Goyal said on Friday, even as a senior government official said a bilateral trade deal with Washington was “very near”.
“India will not sign any trade deal in a hurry,” Goyal said during a speech at the Berlin Global Dialogue, referring to European Union and the US concerns over India’s continued purchases of Russian oil.
Alongside ongoing EU free trade pact negotiations, India is in trade talks with the United States, which has imposed 50% tariffs on Indian exports.
US President Donald Trump said this week he spoke with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi mainly about trade, and that Modi had assured him India would limit its oil purchases from Russia.
Goyal said New Delhi would take a measured approach.
An official aware of the ongoing trade talks with the US told reporters in New Delhi that two countries are sorting out the language of their agreement.
“We are very near as far as deal is concerned,” the official said, adding that both countries are “converging on most of the issues.”
New Delhi has been resisting US demands to allow market access for American grains and dairy, citing the need to protect the livelihoods of small farmers but India could consider allowing some corn and soymeal imports, trade and industry sources said.
After the United States sanctioned Russia’s top oil producers on Wednesday, Indian refiners, major buyers of cheap Russian oil, said they are set to sharply cut imports, potentially clearing a key hurdle to a US-India trade deal.
Goods exports to the US fell to $5.43 billion from $6.87 billion in August, as tariffs hit shipments of goods such as textiles, shrimp, and gems and jewelry, data released by the Commerce ministry showed.
The EU, United Kingdom and the United States are pressuring New Delhi to scale back imports of discounted Russian crude, which the Western nations argue help fund Moscow’s war effort in Ukraine.
India has long defended its energy purchases as essential for ensuring affordable supplies and energy security, but Indian refiners are now poised to sharply curtail imports of Russian oil to comply with new US sanctions on two major Russian producers.
Meanwhile, India’s merchandise trade deficit widened to a 13-month high of $32.15 billion in September, driven by gold and silver imports and a drop in exports to the US following President Donald Trump’s up to 50% tariffs on Indian goods, data showed on Wednesday. The September figure marks the full month reflecting the impact of those steep US tariffs following and comes just ahead of a new round of trade talks between New Delhi and Washington scheduled for this week.
Goods exports to the US fell to $5.43 billion from $6.87 billion in August, as tariffs hit shipments of goods such as textiles, shrimp, and gems and jewelry, data released by the Commerce ministry showed.
Imports from the US rose to $3.98 billion from $3.6 billion in the previous month.
“Despite turbulence in the global market, our exports have maintained momentum;” said Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal, “but the imports have grown at faster pace in September, driven by increase in gold, silver, fertilizers and electronics.”
India and USA are holding discussions to finalize the first tranche of a bilateral deal by the end of next month, “an Indian delegation is in Washington for further trade talks,” Agrawal said, adding that exporters were battling tariff challenges and striving to maintain supply chains.
