Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has said that India is negotiating trade agreements with several countries, including the US, and stressed that many nations are keen to engage with New Delhi on the trade front. He also exuded confidence that India's exports in 2025-26 will exceed last year's figures. In 2024-25, India's goods and services exports touched $825 billion. India and the US are negotiating a bilateral trade agreement since March. For the next round of talks, a US team is scheduled to visit India from August 25. These talks assume significance as the US has imposed 50 per cent tariffs on Indian goods. A 25 per cent duty came into effect on August 7, with the remaining 25 per cent set to be implemented from August 27.

The commerce minister said India has recently inked trade agreements with several countries, including the UAE, Mauritius, Australia, EFTA (European Free Trade Area), and the UK. Asked how India will deal with the current global trade order and penal tariffs of the US, he said ‘I do not see any de-globalisation. I see countries restructuring their trade routes and their trade partners and I am quite confident this year, India will do more exports than last year.’ 

He further said that the Indian economy is growing faster and the world is looking up to India. He said ‘the whole world recognises us as the fastest growing large economy. We are contributing 16 per cent in the global growth, our inflation is amongst the lowest in the world compared to other emerging market economies, our macro economic fundamentals are the best. India today is stronger, much more confident, much more respected.’ He also said ‘India is growing at 6.5 per cent and we will of course have trading arrangements with whom we have complimentarities.' These remarks assume significance as US President Donald Trump had remarked that India is a dead economy.