New Delhi, 14 October (H.S.): Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal said on Wednesday that relations between India and the United States were “quite good” and would continue to improve despite changes in political leadership and ideological differences.

Piyush Goyal made the remarks while addressing the Bloomberg New Economy Forum 2026 in New Delhi. He emphasised that the bilateral relationship extended well beyond trade, encompassing defence, technology, critical minerals and people-to-people ties.

“Of course, our relations are already quite good,” Piyush Goyal said, adding that he did not see any problems in the relationship. He described India-US ties as extremely important, with far-reaching implications for the world, given that both countries are major democracies.

The Commerce and Industry Minister was responding to a question about whether India-US relations would improve after US President Donald Trump leaves office. Piyush Goyal stressed that the relationship should not be viewed solely through the prism of trade.

“The US is our largest trading partner, and I believe it will remain so in the years ahead,” he said. He added that he did not foresee any major difficulty in reaching an agreement with Washington.

Piyush Goyal highlighted the close cooperation between the two countries in several strategic areas, including defence, technology, critical minerals and people-to-people exchanges. He noted that India and the US continued to collaborate through joint military exercises and efforts to maintain open supply chains for technology, goods and services.

His remarks come as India and the United States continue negotiations on a bilateral trade agreement (BTA). The framework for the proposed agreement was announced in February, but negotiations have continued amid changes in the US tariff regime.

India is seeking more competitive tariff treatment for its goods in the American market compared with those from competing countries.

Despite the high tariffs, India's exports to the United States rose by a modest 0.92 per cent to US$87.3 billion in the 2025-26 financial year. During the same period, imports from the US increased by 15.95 per cent to US$52.9 billion.

As a result, India's trade surplus with the United States narrowed to US$34.4 billion in 2025-26, compared with US$40.89 billion in the previous financial year, 2024-25.

Piyush Goyal's comments underscore the Indian government's emphasis on maintaining broad-based strategic and economic cooperation with the United States while negotiations on trade and tariffs continue.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar