India has secured the best trade deal with the United States compared with competing countries, commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal said on Saturday, highlighting the strong ties between the two nations.

Speaking at the Raisina Dialogue 2026 in New Delhi, Goyal said India and the US share a close relationship that goes beyond trade.

“It has been a fantastic journey. We have the best of relations. You would have observed that through the last year, President Donald Trump has always had the best things to say about India as a country, and about Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi. We have fantastic relations with our counterparts there. Even within your family, sometimes you can have one or two misunderstandings. It's a part of the course. I think it's a very, very powerful relationship that the US and India share. And we got the best deal amongst all the nations with whom we compete,” Goyal said.

His remarks come as India and the US have finalised the framework for the first phase of a bilateral trade agreement. Goyal said the US remains central to the global economy.

“We have a large responsibility cast on both our nations. They are the world's largest economy, USD 30 trillion economy, nobody can wish them away,” he said.

He explained that trade agreements are meant to secure better access for goods and services compared with other countries.

“What's a trade deal? You are trying to get a preference or a preferential access for yourself, your goods, your services, compared to your competitor. And we got the best deal amongst all the competing nations. I mean whether it's in our neighbourhood Pakistan or Bangladesh. If we look at the Asian region, we got the best deal amongst all of the competitors...” Goyal said.

The agreement comes amid changes in US tariff policy. Washington had earlier said it would reduce reciprocal tariffs on India to 18 per cent.

However, after the US Supreme Court struck down the tariffs, Donald Trump imposed a 10 per cent tariff on imports from all countries for 150 days from February 24.

A meeting between the chief negotiators of the two countries to finalise the legal text of the agreement has been postponed.

Under the deal, India will eliminate or reduce tariffs on US industrial goods and several American agricultural products. These include dried distillers' grains used in animal feed, red sorghum, tree nuts, fresh and processed fruit, soybean oil, wine and spirits.

India has also said it plans to purchase USD 500 billion worth of American energy products, aircraft and aircraft parts, precious metals, technology products and coking coal over the next five years. Goyal said the India-US relationship covers several areas.

“There's a huge technology overlay on it. There's a huge critical minerals partnership, there's a defense partnership, there's a huge amount of investments that flow into India from the US. So it's a partnership of two countries which is going to define the future,” he said.

Opposition parties have criticised the trade pact, saying the government has compromised the interests of farmers. Goyal rejected the charge while referring to nine free trade agreements signed by the government.

“These nine free trade agreements, I can say on record with all the courage that I have on my command with all the responsibility that in not a single trade deal, has India compromised on any sensitivity of any of our stakeholders,” he said.

He also spoke about opening the auto sector under some trade agreements, including those with the UK and the European Union.

“Demand for this industry is growing at an average of 8 per cent. So you can imagine how much more scope we have to create jobs,” he said.

Goyal said foreign carmakers may first export vehicles to India before setting up manufacturing here once they understand the market.

“Initially they can sell, say, 5,000 cars or 10,000 cars, to test the market, find the distraction -- and then come and manufacture here,” he said. He said India is building a network of trade partnerships through these free trade agreements.