India wants tariff edge before signing final US trade deal: Piyush Goyal

India will announce the final details of its trade deal with the United States as soon as Washington is able to give New Delhi a tariff advantage over competing economies, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Thursday.

The minister added that India's goods exports in August continued to grow.

The India-US trade agreement was announced on February 3, 2026, cutting the US tariff on Indian goods to 18 per cent from a peak of 50 per cent.


Goyal has repeatedly said the deal will only come into force once Washington puts in place a framework that gives India a clear tariff edge over competing manufacturing economies such as Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines, China, Malaysia, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

Under the agreement, India has protected its agriculture and dairy sectors, while sectors such as MSMEs, textiles, gems and jewellery, leather goods and marine products stand to benefit from the lower tariff.

An additional 25 per cent levy linked to India's imports of Russian crude oil has also been lifted as part of the deal, Goyal has said earlier.