Trade talks ongoing in cordial atmosphere with US; Farmer, MSME interest will be protected: Piyush Goyal

New Delhi: Insisting that India will protect the interests of farmers, fishermen and MSME sectors in trade talks, Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Saturday said discussions between India and the US on a proposed bilateral trade agreement are progressing in a cordial atmosphere.

"No agreement can be made until we take care of the interests of India's farmers, fishermen and MSME sector," he told reporters here.

The remarks are important as the US is seeking concessions in India's agriculture sector.

The Indian official team, headed by Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal, was in Washington this week to hold trade talks with their US counterparts.

The three-day talks ended on October 17. The team is on its way back from the US.

An official said that the talks were positive during this visit between the two sides and a number of issues have been resolved in earlier rounds of negotiations also.

Goyal said "Despite the international difficulties, in a very volatile, very turbulent international environment, India is progressing so rapidly that even the IMF had to revise its forecast upward to 6.6 per cent growth this year."

The Minister expressed confidence that despite global uncertainties due to the US tariffs, India's exports will register a positive growth in 2025-26.

He said that during the first six months (April-September) of this fiscal, the country's goods and services exports have recorded growth.

It grew by about 5 per cent to $ 413.3 billion during April-September 2025-26. India's merchandise shipments too rose by 3 per cent to $ 220.12 billion during the period.

When asked if some e-commerce firms have not passed on the benefits of GST cut to consumers, the minister said that normally all companies have passed on the benefits.

"But if any site or platform has not passed on the benefits, consumer affairs (department) can take action. All industry and businesses have assured me that full benefit will be passed on to consumers," he added.