India-US Trade Talks Advance as Trump Sets August 1 Tariff Deadline; India-UK FTA Called ‘Game-Changer’

New Delhi, July 26 — Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Saturday that India’s trade talks with the United States are going well. This comes just days before US President Donald Trump’s new tariffs on specific countries are set to begin on August 1.

Speaking at a book release event in New Delhi, FM Sitharaman shared that negotiations with both the US and the UK are moving forward. “I can’t say whether bilateral trade is good or bad, but talks are progressing. Negotiations with the US and EU are also going well,” she said, according to media reports.

President Trump, earlier this week, said most of the US’s trade deals will be completed by August 1. Speaking at the White House, he mentioned plans to send letters to about 200 countries with details of their new tariff rates. “When those letters go out… it means the deal is done. They pay the tariff — that’s the contract,” Trump told reporters before leaving for Scotland, as per Yonhap news agency.

In another major development, India signed a free trade agreement (FTA) with the United Kingdom this week. Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal described it as a “game-changing” deal that will benefit farmers, small businesses, professionals, and fishermen.

Goyal said the FTA, officially known as the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), has already been approved by India’s Cabinet. It will become active once the UK Parliament completes its ratification process.

He added that this FTA with the UK is India’s largest and most important trade deal so far, and it took nearly 22–23 years of talks to finalize. The agreement will give India duty-free access for 99% of its exports to the UK — a big win for Indian industries and exporters.