Modi reports 'significant progress' in US-India trade talks after Trump meeting

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and U.S. President Donald Trump have signaled 'significant progress' in long-running trade negotiations, announcing they are 'very close' to finalizing an interim bilateral trade agreement. The breakthrough came during their meeting on the sidelines of the G7 Summit in Evian-les-Bains, France, on June 17, 2026, marking a critical juncture in economic and geopolitical alignment between the two nations. This latest push follows a February 2026 framework deal that saw the U.S. slash punitive tariffs on Indian goods from 50% to a consolidated 18%, in exchange for India's commitment to a monumental $500 billion 'Buy American' program and a strategic cessation of Russian oil imports. However, negotiations hit a snag when a U.S. Supreme Court ruling struck down some of President Trump's sweeping tariff measures, leading to renewed investigations and the imposition of a blanket 10% tariff. Despite these challenges, India's Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal indicated in early June that the first tranche of the deal was 'about 99%' complete, setting the stage for the high-level G7 discussions to bridge the remaining gaps on market access and other non-tariff barriers. The immediate next step sees U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer heading to India next week, from June 22-24, to iron out the 'final touches' of the interim agreement and lay the groundwork for a more expansive Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA). Both leaders have instructed their officials to expedite a 'balanced, mutually beneficial, and commercially meaningful' agreement, aiming to bolster bilateral trade to an ambitious $500 billion by 2030 and solidify a deeper economic and strategic partnership in the Indo-Pacific region.