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Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal on Thursday asserted that there has been no investment commitment from India to the US, but it is natural that India may need to source more products from the US going ahead with the Viksit Bharat 2047 goal.
"The fast paced growth at which India is going ahead in our journey in the Amritkal to Viksit Bharat 2047, we will need large volumes of energy, we will need large number of data centre equipments, ICT products, our steel capacity is going to double from today's 140 million tons to about 300 million tons in the next few years," Piyush Goyal told reporters in the national capital. As per estimates, Piyush Goyal said India may import goods worth USD 500 billion from the US in the next five years. These remarks from Indian side come days after US President Donald Trump claimed that India committed to USD 500 investment in the US, while announcing the trade deal. "We can clearly see before our eyes the potential that we can procure from the United States of America over the next five years," he supplemented. India's aircraft purchases from the US alone, including orders that are placed or yet-to-be-placed, are nearly USD 70-80 billion. Adding the engines and other spare parts, it will probably cost USD 100 billion, he added. He also spoke about the data centre tax holiday being provided for in the Budget. "Imagine, if we get USD 100-150 billion of investments in data centres, we will obviously need equipment for those data centres," Piyush Goyal said. The bilateral trade agreement (BTA) between India and the US, formally proposed in February 2025 following directives from the leadership of both nations, seeks to more than double bilateral trade, from the current USD 191 billion to USD 500 billion by 2030. "And if we have to achieve that, we will certainly need to do a lot more exports and a lot more sourcing both between the USA and India," Piyush Goyal stressed. Addressing reporters today, Piyush Goyal said that the first tranche of the bilateral trade agreement between India and the United States is now almost ready, with a joint statement expected to be issued within the next four to five days. A formal legal agreement on the trade deal is expected to be signed around mid-March, he said. Goyal said that after the joint statement is released, the US is expected to issue an executive order to reduce tariffs to 18 per cent. The to-be-signed legal agreement will allow India to reduce tariffs on US goods. "Their tariffs are executive tariffs, our tariffs are MFN tariffs. MFN tariffs reduction can only take place after the legal agreement has been signed," Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal supplemented. The Trump administration had imposed tariffs on countries that were major exporters to the US, including India and China. There was a 50 per cent tariff on goods from India entering the United States since August 2025. The tariffs have now been proposed to be reduced to 18 per cent following the leaders' phone call this week. (ANI)
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