Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said he held “fruitful” discussions with U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick and U.S. Ambassador to India Sergio Gor on Thursday (February 26, 2026).
The meeting comes days after negotiators on both sides decided to postpone the Indian team’s visit to Washington for a meeting that was scheduled from February 23-25 to finalise the interim agreement on trade between the two countries.
The decision followed the U.S. Supreme Court striking down U.S. President Donald Trump’s use of particular legislation to implement tariffs on partner countries, including on India.
“Hosted US Secretary of Commerce @HowardLutnick & @USAmbIndia Sergio Gor. Engaged in very fruitful discussions to expand our trade and economic partnership,” Mr. Goyal posted on X.
Mr. Gor, too, took to X to say that he had a “highly productive lunch” with Mr. Lutnick and Mr. Goyal, and that there were “so many areas of cooperation” for India and the U.S.
No deal so far
The two countries have so far only signed and announced a joint statement saying that they have “reached a framework for an Interim Agreement” regarding reciprocal and mutually beneficial trade. That agreement was supposed to be signed in mid-March and implemented by early April, according to Mr. Goyal.
In response to the Supreme Court decision, the Indian government issued a statement saying it has “noted” the judgment and that the government was “studying all these developments for their implications”. It did not, however, indicate that it was re-thinking the interim agreement.
U.S. in business-as-usual mode
Following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision, Mr. Lutnick had told an American news channel that, over the last year, he has been assuring U.S. trade partners that “we were going to have tariffs” regardless of the outcome of the Supreme Court case.
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“That’s why they signed these deals, even while the litigation was pending,” he said. “So, we’re having active conversations with them. We want them to understand that these deals are going to be good deals. We expect to stand by them. We expect our partners to stand by them. And I haven’t heard anyone yet come to me and say, the deal’s off.”
