Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Tuesday expressed hope that India will conclude the proposed bilateral trade agreement (BTA) with the US by the fall or November this year. He said that “a little bit” of geopolitical issues overtook the trade matters in the negotiations for the pact between the two countries.

“I do hope that things will get back on track soon and we will conclude a bilateral trade agreement by the fall, November or so, as was discussed by our two leaders in February,” Goyal said at the Annual Global Investor Conference 2025 in Mumbai on Tuesday. In his virtual address, he said there is an excitement across the world to expand trading and business relations with India.

“We have had a little bit of geopolitical issues overtaking trade issues in our negotiations with the United States of America,” he added. India has already inked free trade agreements with Australia, the UAE, Mauritius, the UK and the four European nations bloc EFTA, he said. “With the US, we are in dialogue with them on a BTA,” the minister said earlier in the day at an industry chamber event on sustainability.