New Delhi, Dec 22 (NationPress) The Minister for Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal, announced on Monday that India and the United States are in the advanced phases of discussions regarding a bilateral trade deal.

Goyal informed reporters that India has successfully finalized free trade agreements with three nations from the Five Eyes (FVEY) intelligence alliance — Australia, the UK, and New Zealand. The remaining two members are the US and Canada.

The minister elaborated that they are also looking to rekindle talks with Canada about a bilateral trade agreement. "We are on the verge of initiating discussions for the ToR (terms of reference) with Canada as well," Goyal remarked, emphasizing that "this underscores India’s increasing strategic significance in global geopolitics".

His optimistic outlook follows recent dialogues between Indian officials and a US delegation led by Deputy Trade Representative Rick Switzer in New Delhi earlier this month.

Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal previously mentioned that India is "very close" to finalizing an initial framework agreement with the US aimed at reducing reciprocal tariffs.

"We are nearing the completion of the initial framework deal, though I prefer not to set a timeline," Agrawal stated during a press conference on December 15. He added that six rounds of discussions have been completed, addressing both a Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) and an interim arrangement to cut reciprocal tariffs.

Agrawal indicated a strong possibility that both nations will achieve an interim agreement to lower high tariffs on most Indian exports.

Goyal previously mentioned that the ongoing trade discussions between Indian and US officials are moving forward positively but ruled out any deadline for finalizing the agreement.

Reflecting on the visit of US Deputy Trade Representative Rick Switzer to Delhi, he stated: "We engaged in substantial discussions. However, I have stated publicly that a deal is only concluded when both parties benefit. Negotiating with deadlines can lead to errors."

Agrawal noted that both sides exchanged perspectives on matters concerning India-US trade relations, including ongoing negotiations for a mutually advantageous Bilateral Trade Agreement.

US President Donald Trump recently remarked that his discussions with Prime Minister Narendra Modi were "progressing well" and indicated that a visit to Delhi could occur next year.

Trump expressed his intention to "lower tariffs" on India "at some point", suggesting that a breakthrough in trade discussions might be imminent.

Nevertheless, India has firmly stated that it will not compromise the interests of its farmers, dairy sector, and labor force in trade agreements with other nations.

India has begun increasing its imports of oil and gas from the US, a strategic move aimed at diminishing India’s trade surplus with the US, which was a topic in previous trade discussions.

In this regard, Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri announced that India’s public sector oil firms have successfully secured a one-year structured contract to import approximately 2.2 million tonnes per annum of LPG from the US Gulf Coast by 2026. This marks nearly 10 percent of India’s annual LPG imports and is the first structured LPG contract with the US for the Indian market. The minister termed this decision as a "historic development," highlighting that one of the world’s largest and fastest-growing LPG markets has now opened up to the United States.