Moving fast to close ‘open-ends’; first tranche of India-US trade deal by mid-July: Piyush Goyal

5 min readNew DelhiUpdated: Jun 5, 2026 07:57 PM IST

The Commerce and Industry Ministry on Thursday had said that a delegation from the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR), led by the Chief Negotiator, visited India from 1–4 June 2026. (Express Archive)

A day after India and US trade officials concluded negotiations, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal on Friday said that India and the US will sign the “first tranche” of the bilateral trade deal by mid-July. The US has already proposed new Section 301 tariffs on 60 countries, which are expected to come into effect after July 7. Washington has set 12.5% tariffs on 54 countries, including India, China and 10% of 6 countries, such as Pakistan and the European Union.

“We had excellent discussions from June 2-4 this month. We had a full team of officials from different divisions of trade from the US in New Delhi. I also met them yesterday. We are fast-moving towards closing all the open ends. Sometime by the middle of next month or so, we should be in a position to execute a very vibrant first tranche of the bilateral trade agreement. It will give preferential access to India over our competitors. I expect a higher level delegation by the end of this month,” Goyal said at a press conference in Andhra Pradesh.

US President Donald Trump on Thursday also said that India and the US would finalise a trade agreement. Speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump said,” For years, India took advantage of the United States. They charged us tremendous tariffs and paid nothing. Now it is the exact reverse, and we are making a lot of money with India. But we will get to a deal…I like your Prime Minister a lot. He is a good friend of mine, and we get along well. We have a good relationship,” Trump said.

The Commerce and Industry Ministry on Thursday had said that a delegation from the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR), led by the Chief Negotiator, visited India from 1–4 June 2026 to advance discussions on the trade agreement. “During the visit, the teams held constructive and positive discussions across a wide range of issues covering Trade in Goods, Non-Tariff Measures, Customs and Trade Facilitation, Economic Security Alignment and other areas of mutual interest,” the ministry said.

Experts have said that Section 301 is a far more potent tool than the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) tariffs, which were used to impose reciprocal tariffs but did not pass muster in the US Supreme Court. This legal tool was mostly used by the US against countries such as Europe & Japan, dominant export powers then, before the WTO came into existence in 1995. The Trump administration has resurrected Section 301 again amid a weakening WTO.

Singapore-based Henrich Foundation explained that under Section 301, USTR gets sweeping powers not only to impose duties but also other kinds of restrictions. USTR can “withdraw or suspend trade agreement concessions”, enter into binding agreements with the foreign government to eliminate the conduct or unburden US commerce, or compensate the US with satisfactory trade benefits.

“After consultations, USTR is meant to investigate to determine whether the action is unfair and harms US trade. This investigation can result in a determination of either mandatory or discretionary actions. The former includes trade agreement violations, unjustifiable or burdensome, or restrictive behaviour. Because Section 301 need not apply only to goods, other retaliatory actions are allowed, such as restricting the terms or conditions or denying the issuance of any ‘service sector access authorisation’,” the Henrich Foundation report said.

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Deborah Elms, Head of Trade Policy at Hinrich Foundation, said that the Section 301 could have a firmer legal standing and tariffs imposed could reach any level as long as the required procedures are followed. USTR started the investigation in March and has come out with the findings after the required duration. It has also allocated time for public comments.

“The courts, if asked to examine the use of Section 301, are likely to give the President wide deference as long as the required procedures are followed. Recall that the law provides maximum timelines, not any minimum. Past cases were often narrowly targeted. Future cases need not be so constrained. Tariffs may be part of any retaliatory package, set to any level, alongside a wide range of other actions to address the charge of unfair trade practices,” Elms said.

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Ravi Dutta Mishra is a Principal Correspondent with The Indian Express, specializing in economic policy and financial regulations. With over five years of experience in business journalism, he provides critical coverage of the frameworks that govern India's commercial landscape.

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