New Delhi, Jan 19 (IANS) Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Monday met US Senator Steve Daines and US Envoy to India, Sergio Gor, saying they had productive exchange of views on the bilateral relationship.

The meeting comes at a time when New Delhi and Washington are engaged in advanced stages of their much-anticipated trade deal.

“Delighted to again meet my good friends US Senator @SteveDaines and the US Ambassador to India @SergioGor. Had a productive exchange of views on our bilateral relationship,” the minister posted on X.

Gor said earlier that India and the US continue to be actively engaged in trade talks. He also stated that while trade is very important for India-US ties, the two countries will continue to work closely together on other very important areas, such as security, counter-terrorism, energy, technology, education, and health.

The first tranche of the India-US trade deal is close to being finalised, though no timeline can be committed, according to Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal. There was a virtual meeting between India’s commerce minister Piyush Goyal and the US Trade Representative (USTR) Jamieson Greer in the last week of December and negotiating teams on both sides are in continuous talks to arrive at a consensus, Agrawal said recently.

India hopes that exports to the US will remain in positive territory. Electronics shipments, which are currently tariff-free, have been a key driver so far, even as higher duties continue to impact other sectors, the Commerce Secretary explained.

Gor also announced that India will be invited to join PaxSilica as a full member next month. He explained that PaxSilica is a new initiative that the United States launched just last month to build a secure, prosperous, and innovation-driven silicon supply chain from critical minerals and energy inputs to advanced manufacturing, semiconductors, AI development, and logistics.

–IANS

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