India's trade minister, Piyush Goyal, held a lunch meeting with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick in New Delhi on Thursday, Goyal said in a post on X. The meeting, described by the Indian minister as a discussion of trade and economic partnership, came days after a U.S. Supreme Court order that altered the legal footing of sweeping global tariffs previously enacted by the U.S. president.
In a separate X post, U.S. envoy to India Sergio Gor called the encounter "A highly productive lunch ... so many areas of cooperation for our two nations!" and shared a photograph showing himself with Lutnick and Goyal. An official from India’s trade ministry said Lutnick was in the country on a personal visit.
Earlier this week Goyal had indicated that two-way trade talks would resume only after there was more clarity, signaling that New Delhi still intends to pursue a deal with Washington even as questions remain about the U.S. president’s tariff authority.
The legal and policy backdrop to the meeting remains in flux. Since the Supreme Court order, the U.S. president has announced a temporary 10% duty on imports from all nations, including India, and has said he would raise that rate to 15% - the maximum allowed under the statute he has invoked. Before the court decision, both governments had agreed on a framework under which Washington would cut tariffs on Indian goods to 18% from 50%. The earlier 50% rate had incorporated a 25% punitive tariff that applied in part due to New Delhi’s purchases of Russian oil.
Officials and public posts have not provided further details on the specific agenda items discussed at the lunch. The exchanges nonetheless indicate that, despite changes in the U.S. legal and policy environment on tariffs, senior officials from both sides are engaging directly to explore cooperation and the possibility of resuming formal trade negotiations once conditions are clearer.
Observers reviewing the meeting pointed to the continued interplay between legal rulings, executive tariff actions, and bilateral negotiation frameworks as key variables shaping the immediate outlook for trade between the two countries.