The long-awaited and painstakingly negotiated trade framework between the United States and India is on the precipice of completion, according to India’s Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal.

On Thursday, the official said the nation had recently finalized nine free trade agreements with other nations, “and I include the U.S., which is almost done and dusted,” according to the Hindu Businessline. The trade pact will be executed once the U.S. provides India with competitive advantages over its regional competitors, Goyal added.

India has been fighting for a better tariff rate than other export hubs across Asia while also navigating persistent tensions with the U.S. over its purchases of Russian energy products.

In August 2025, President Donald Trump levied an additional 25 percent tariff on Indian imports—on top of the already hefty 25 percent rate established under his “reciprocal” tariff scheme—as a result of India’s purchases of Russian oil. That edict was rolled back in February as the nations announced that they had reached a consensus on a phase-one framework for a bilateral deal.

However, India’s economic ties to Russia have continued to hamper a deal. Earlier this month, Congress passed the Sanctioning Russia Act, which empowers the president to hit the five largest purchasers of Russian oil—including India and China—with tariffs of up to 100 percent. Trump has not announced his intention to move forward with those duties as of yet.

India was also one of 60 targets of a U.S. Trade Representative Section 301 investigation into import practices surrounding goods made with forced labor. In July, the Trump administration hit dozens of economies with double-digit duties, including India, which faces a 10 percent duty rate under the trade statute.

Goyal will visit the U.S. for the Group of 20 (G20) Trade Ministerial on Sept. 1, which will be held in Milwaukee, Wis. He plans to meet with USTR Ambassador Jamieson Greer to discuss the deal. Greer visited India with a U.S. delegation in June, saying progress had been made on the agreement.

The trade official’s comments come as calls from business leaders to solidify a deal have reached a fever pitch.

On Thursday, Ambassador Atul Keshap, president of the U.S.-India Business Council (USIBC), called on both governments to accelerate their efforts to finalize the agreement.

“The United States and India have achieved truly historic milestones over the last two decades. Finalizing a Reciprocal Agreement on Trade before year’s end would be their greatest accomplishment yet,” he said in a statement.

“We call on both governments to use this opportunity to conclude an agreement that lowers trade barriers, and minimizes tariffs. A historic agreement would encapsulate this year’s hard-won progress providing greater certainty to an incredibly consequential economic and strategic bilateral partnership,” he added.

Meanwhile, Canada has been rushing to establish new trade agreements in the wake of a breakdown in its relationship with its biggest export market, the U.S.

On Tuesday, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said negotiations with India are advancing steadily since the nations launched official negotiations in March, and that they are hoping to reach an agreement by the G20 Summit in Miami in December.

“We are making good progress in our trade negotiations with India,” Carney told media on sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly. He added that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi would be visiting Canada in December.

Carney’s stated goal has been to double Canada’s trade with economies outside the U.S. over the course of the next 10 years, and an agreement with India would be a part of that effort.