Goyal, Greer to hold two-day talk this week to wrap up India–US trade framework

US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal will hold two-day talks this week on the first phase of the bilateral trade agreement. "For the US trade deal talks, tomorrow my counterpart is coming to Delhi," Goyal told reporters in Mumbai. The meeting followed chief negotiator-level discussions on the pact held earlier this month (June 2-4) here in the national capital. Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal has recently stated that the discussions between the two ministers are expected to be centred around giving final touches to the framework deal. On June 5, Goyal said India and the US are moving towards closing all the open ends of the interim trade agreement, and both sides are likely to execute the "very, very vibrant" first phase of the BTA by the middle of next month. IMPORTANCE OF THE MIDDLE OF NEXT MONTH -------------------------------------------------- The 10 per cent temporary tariff imposed by the US on all its trading partners on February 24, 2026, for 150 days will expire on July 24. After that, the MFN (most favoured nation) tariffs will come into force on goods imported by the US. The temporary tariff is levied over and above the MFN duty. So before July 24, the US has to put in place a new tariff regime. For that, the US is conducting two Section 301 investigations against a number of countries, including India. This is the only legal mechanism through which the US can impose new tariffs of any magnitude.