India and the United States may be on the , but New Delhi has made one thing clear: it will not sign the deal unless it gives Indian exporters an advantage over their neighbouring competitors.
Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said India has already negotiated the broad contours of the agreement with the Donald Trump administration. However, the pact will come into force only after the US creates a framework that guarantees lower tariffs for Indian goods than those imposed on competing Asian economies.
Speaking at the India Global Forum’s ‘UK-India Week 2026: Capital Frontiers’ in London, Goyal explained why India is refusing to rush into the agreement despite both sides repeatedly saying they are close to finalising it.
Piyush Goyal: India Won’t Activate US Trade Deal Until Competitive Edge Is Secured
The Indian Commerce Minister alluded that New Delhi is seeking clarity on how it will retain an edge over competing manufacturing economies before moving ahead with the deal.
He noted that the — RT_India (@RT_India_news)
According to Goyal, the trade negotiations were built around one core advantage for India.
“The whole deal was centred around that competitive advantage we got with that 18 per cent over our neighbours and competing countries. We were lower than all our neighbouring countries and all our ASEAN countries other than Singapore. That is why the deal was attractive for us,” he said.
The proposed framework was negotiated when reciprocal tariffs imposed under the US International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) placed India under a 50 per cent tariff. Under the understanding reached between the two countries, those tariffs would have fallen to 18 per cent, giving Indian exporters a significant edge over many competing nations.
The trade deal seemed all but ready. Then came a major legal twist after the US Supreme Court struck down the reciprocal tariffs.
Goyal said recent legal developments have forced both countries to revisit the agreement before it can be implemented.
“With the Supreme Court striking down the tariffs and the 10 per cent which expires on July 24, we obviously have to have some reason to be able to enter into force that agreement we have already agreed upon,” he said.
The Union Minister said that India is not looking for special treatment. Instead, it wants to ensure that its exporters remain more competitive than countries with similar manufacturing costs and economic profiles.
“We have to ensure that we get a competitive advantage over what is being paid by countries in the same stage of development or same cost structures as India has, whether it is Vietnam, Thailand, Philippines, Indonesia, China, Malaysia, apart from Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and all our neighbours,” he said.
He added that until Washington identifies the legal tools needed to preserve that tariff advantage, New Delhi will not activate the agreement.
“Until that framework of getting that competitive advantage can be finalised, we can’t enter into force a US deal. That’s broadly the discussions on how the US will find the appropriate tools and legal backing to give us that competitive advantage over our competition. The day that happens, the deal is on,” Goyal said.
Goyal’s comments came just a day after US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer wrapped up his visit to New Delhi. During the visit, he met the commerce minister and senior officials to shape the framework for the first phase of the bilateral trade agreement. The meetings followed another round of chief negotiator-level discussions held earlier this month.
US President Donald Trump has also expressed confidence that the agreement is close. Earlier this month, he said Washington and New Delhi were “very close” to concluding the trade pact.
The framework for the interim agreement was announced in February after months of negotiations. It proposed reducing US tariffs on Indian goods from 50 per cent to 18 per cent, giving Indian exporters an edge over several competing Asian economies.
The economic stakes are significant. The US is India’s second-largest trading partner during the 2025-26 financial year. India exported goods worth USD 87.3 billion to the US during the period, while imports from the US stood at USD 52.9 billion.