Goyal, US commerce secy hold talk on trade

Days after the US Supreme Court invalidated President Donald Trump's sweeping global tariffs, commerce secretary Howard Lutnick made an unscheduled visit to New Delhi and had a “highly productive” lunch meeting with commerce minister Piyush Goyal on Thursday that largely revolved around trade and economic partnership.

- Rajeev Jayaswal

US ambassador to India Sergio Gor and Goyal confirmed the development through separate posts on X. Along with a photograph of the three, Gor said: “A highly productive lunch with @howardlutnick and @Piyush-Goyal. So many areas of cooperation for our two nations!”

Goyal said he had “engaged in very fruitful discussions to expand our trade and economic partnership.”

The US Commerce Department, in a statement to HT, said the two sides “discussed ways to deepen the trade and economic relationship between the United States and India.” A spokesperson of commerce ministry did not respond to queries seeking details.

Later in the day, Lutnick departed for Jodhpur. He is attending the wedding of Ayesha Arora, the daughter of tech executive Nikesh Arora, and ice hockey star Jack Hughes in Jodhpur, people familiar with the matter said.