Piyush Goyal
He moved the US trade pact into legal drafting at 98-99 percent complete, and met Canada's trade minister as a 300-company delegation closed nearly $300 million in deals toward an end-2026 pact.
Piyush Goyal heads into the weekend with his biggest file moving: the US trade pact has entered legal drafting, the first tranche finalized and talks 98 to 99 percent complete. High-level discussions between Trump and Modi resolved the biggest remaining issues after the IEEPA basis for the tariffs was struck down, forcing a legal rework, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio is due in Mumbai and Jamnagar to close the deal. Goyal has called the pact "almost done and dusted"; his counterpart Jamieson Greer has said the sticking points are mapped but no final announcement is imminent.
Canada landed within hours. Goyal met Canadian Trade Minister Maninder Sidhu in New Delhi as Sidhu's 300-company delegation closed 34 commercial agreements worth nearly $300 million. Both sides aim to conclude their pact by end-2026, with Modi due in Toronto and Ottawa on December 11-12.
On China, Goyal says India is working to rebuild relations but "the last word has not been scripted on this journey," against a trade deficit that has grown to $112 billion in FY26 and non-tariff barriers he says block Indian exports.
The throughline remains a $1 trillion export target he says India can hit this financial year, after 25 percent export growth in April-August and a record $863 billion in 2025-26. The New Zealand pact enters force October 20, he chaired the India-UK trade committee on October 12 toward doubling trade by 2030, and he is pitching India as a global car hub, calling Europe's regulations "crazy."
At home, he posed ten questions to Rahul Gandhi demanding evidence and affidavits for vote-theft claims against the Election Commission, told commerce students that AI will create more jobs than it replaces, and says India's self-sufficiency push flows from being "let down miserably" by all countries during the pandemic.
On their plate
Goyal confirmed the first tranche is finalized and the talks, 98 to 99 percent complete, have moved to legal drafting after the IEEPA basis for the tariffs was struck down. Trump-Modi discussions resolved the biggest remaining issues, Secretary of State Marco Rubio is due in Mumbai and Jamnagar to close the deal, and Goyal has said execution hinges on securing a competitive edge over China, Bangladesh and ASEAN. Counterpart Jamieson Greer says no final announcement is imminent, and the file still carries the Graham Act's threat of tariffs up to 100 percent on Russian-oil buyers plus a 10 percent tariff already imposed on some Indian goods after a forced-labor probe.
Goyal met Canadian Trade Minister Maninder Sidhu in New Delhi as Sidhu led a 300-company delegation that closed 34 commercial agreements worth nearly $300 million. Both sides aim to conclude their comprehensive economic partnership agreement by end-2026, with Modi set to visit Toronto and Ottawa on December 11-12. The fifth round of talks covered AI, aerospace, energy and critical minerals, and Goyal has called the next 90 days a defining period for the relationship.
Goyal says India is working to rebuild relations with China but "the last word has not been scripted on this journey." India's trade deficit with China has grown to $112 billion in FY26, and he points to non-tariff barriers blocking Indian exports.
Goyal says India can hit $1 trillion in exports this financial year on roughly 16 percent growth, after 25 percent export growth in April-August and a record $863 billion in 2025-26, and he has asked industry body CII to open FTA utilization desks in every state council to help small exporters with rules of origin. His strategy locks in preferential access to developed markets worth $85 trillion in combined GDP while shielding agriculture, fisheries and dairy: the New Zealand pact enters force October 20, the India-UK trade committee met October 12 toward doubling trade by 2030, and the EU pact is expected to be signed by end-2026. He is pitching India as a global car-manufacturing hub, saying Europe's "crazy regulations" make production there uncompetitive, and courted US investors from IBM to Estée Lauder in New York for AI, cloud, quantum computing and financial services.
Goyal posed ten questions to Rahul Gandhi at an October 13 BJP press conference, demanding evidence and affidavits for vote-theft claims against the Election Commission and accusing Congress of historically undermining the body by rewarding former officials with posts and awards. He told commerce students at Shri Ram College of Commerce that AI will create more jobs than it replaces, likening the transition to the 1990s-2000s IT boom, urging skills in cybersecurity and agent development, and voicing confidence India stays the fastest-growing large economy for the next 20-25 years. He also told the New Economy Forum in New Delhi that being let down miserably by all countries during COVID drives India's doubling down on domestic production.
Key relationships
The prime minister whose summitry anchors Goyal's files: Trump-Modi discussions resolved the biggest remaining issues in the US pact, and Modi is set to visit Toronto and Ottawa on December 11-12 as the Canada pact heads toward conclusion. Modi visited Goyal's New Delhi residence for Ganpati Darshan in September.
Goyal is leading the BJP's rebuttal of Gandhi's vote-theft claims against the Election Commission, demanding evidence and affidavits.
The US Trade Representative is Goyal's direct counterpart on the interim trade agreement; they met at the G20 trade meeting in Milwaukee, where Goyal posted a productive discussion toward early conclusion.
Canada's trade minister, working with Goyal to conclude the comprehensive economic partnership agreement by end-2026; they coordinated the fifth round of talks and met in New Delhi as Sidhu's 300-company delegation closed 34 commercial agreements.
