Piyush Goyal, Commerce and Industry Minister

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NCommerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal may visit the US to participate in the G-20 Trade Ministerial in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to be hosted by Washington from September 30 to October 1, sources said.“The Commerce & Industry Minister is likely to attend the G-20 trade ministerial in Milwaukee. He may also meet US officials during his visit to discuss bilateral trade issues,” a source tracking the matter told businessline.The possible visit would also be significant as India and the US are working to conclude an interim bilateral trade agreement (BTA). While the two sides had announced a framework to the interim deal in February this year, the talks entered the slow lane after the US Supreme Court invalidated US President Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariffs.Negotiations reiteratedThe Ministry of External Affairs, on Tuesday, reiterated that negotiations on the proposed trade pact between India and the US were on.“The conversation between India and the US on the proposed BTA is ongoing. Both sides have done a lot of work in this regard. There are certain issues that need finalisation and both countries are working towards finalisation of the interim BTA,” MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said at the weekly media briefing.The G-20 Trade Ministerial agenda, however, would mostly focus on areas that the Trump administration is most vocally concerned about.Forced labour “At the G20 Trade Ministerial this fall, USTR will lead discussions with the G20 Trade Ministers on a wide array of issues, including ending forced labour, updating the Most-Favoured Nation (MFN) principle, denouncing weaponisation of trade in food, and addressing structural excess capacity and production. The Trump administration looks forward to working with our G20 partners to establish a global trading order based on fair, reciprocal, and balanced trade,” USTR Jamieson Greer had said in a statement issued in May this year while announcing the dates for the meeting.The ongoing trade negotiations have been further complicated by the US initiation of two Section 301 investigations into the trade practices of a number of countries, including India, even as the legality of the probes themselves is being challenged in US courts.Published on August 4, 2026