Indian Commerce Minister: "Expecting Expanded Energy Trade with the U.S."

Bloomberg: "Increasing U.S. Oil and Gas Imports Could Aid Trade Negotiations"

Amid ongoing difficulties in trade negotiations between the United States and India, Piyush Goyal, India’s Minister of Commerce and Industry, has expressed his intention to increase imports of U.S. oil and gas in the future.

Piyush Goyal, Minister of Commerce and Industry of India. Photo by EPA Yonhap News

According to Bloomberg and other sources on September 24 (local time), Minister Goyal stated at an event hosted by the Consulate General of India in New York the previous day, "We expect to expand trade with the United States in the energy sector over the next few years." He added, "India and the United States are close friends and natural partners," emphasizing, "The United States will play a significant role in helping India achieve its energy security goals."

Minister Goyal’s remarks came as the Indian delegation visited the United States in an effort to break the deadlock in bilateral trade negotiations. Previously, a U.S. delegation led by Brendan Lynch, Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for South and Central Asia, visited New Delhi on September 16 and met with the Indian delegation, including Chief Negotiator Rajesh Agrawal. During this meeting, the United States reportedly raised India’s purchases of Russian crude oil as an agenda item in the trade talks.

Last year, the United States recorded a trade deficit of $458 million with India. The two countries have held five rounds of negotiations, but have failed to reach an agreement due to differences over issues such as lowering tariffs on U.S. agricultural products and India halting its purchases of Russian crude oil.

India is the world’s third-largest importer of crude oil, following China and the United States. In particular, India imports 38% of its total crude oil from Russia. The Donald Trump administration previously claimed that India’s purchases of Russian crude oil were helping to finance the war in Ukraine.

Bloomberg projected that, as Minister Goyal indicated, expanding India’s imports of U.S. oil and gas could help reduce the trade imbalance between the two countries and facilitate progress in trade negotiations.