The Commerce Ministry has asked industry and exporters to share their concerns regarding access to the U.S. market so that the issues can be taken up with their American counterparts, an official said on Tuesday (September 1, 2026).
The deliberation is important as Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal will visit the U.S. in late September to attend the G-20 Trade Ministerial in Milwaukee and hold bilateral talks with USTR Jamieson Greer. The two-day ministerial will begin on September 30. The U.S. has imposed an additional 10% tariff on a number of countries, including India, from July 24. India’s exports to the U.S. grew marginally to $87.31 billion in 2025-26 from $86.51 billion in the previous fiscal. Imports, on the other hand, rose by 17.16% to $53.45 billion in the last fiscal year from $45.62 billion in 2024-25. Total trade was up by 6.53% to $140.76 billion in 2025-26 from $132.2 billion in 2024-25. India had a trade surplus of $33.9 billion in the last fiscal year, down from $40.9 billion in 2024-25. During April-July 2026-27, India’s exports to the U.S. rose 3% to $34.5 billion, while imports grew 22.42% to $22.12 billion.
In February, both sides announced the finalisation of the framework for the first phase of the pact, but changes in the U.S. tariff landscape have led to further negotiations between the two countries on the agreement. The meeting was chaired by the Additional Secretary in the Ministry, Darpan Jain. He is also the country’s chief negotiator for the India-U.S. bilateral trade agreement (BTA). Mr. Goyal is also likely to lead a business delegation to Chicago next month after the G20 trade ministerial. Further, the industry flagged concerns over safeguard measures imposed by the U.S. on quartz surface products and urged the Commerce Ministry to take up the matter with American authorities. Representatives of export promotion councils shared export data with the Ministry and discussed the performance of their respective sectors. The meeting was intended to discuss recent trade trends, the overall sector-wise performance of India-U.S. trade, and the recent developments in bilateral trade. The sectors that were represented at the meeting include pharmaceuticals, engineering, textiles, agriculture, chemicals, marine products, leather, automobiles, auto components, handicrafts, and plastics. Industry chambers CII, FICCI, Assocham and apex exporters body FIEO also participated in the deliberations. India and the U.S. are negotiating a bilateral trade agreement. Recently, Mr. Goyal has stated that the first tranche of the bilateral trade agreement between India and the U.S. will come into operation as soon as the United States is able to ensure that India gets a comparative advantage over its competitors. Countries, including Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Indonesia and Malaysia, are major competitors of India in the U.S. market. A tariff advantage vis-à-vis these nations will give price competitiveness to Indian goods in the American market. India’s exports to the U.S. include electrical machinery and telecom instruments (including smartphones), generic medicines, diamonds, industrial boilers, and cotton textiles. Imports include crude petroleum, liquefied natural gas, coal, precious stones, electronics, and aerospace equipment.
The industry official said that some exporters urged the Ministry to try to conclude the trade pact with the U.S. at the earliest to reduce the uncertainties on the tariff front. Order books from the U.S. are good, but their order volume has reduced, according to an exporter. “Due to the prevailing tariff uncertainties, U.S. buyers are not placing big orders, nor are they giving long-term orders, the exporter said and added that American buyers are diversifying their sources of imports,” the official said.
