Washington DC: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Wednesday participated in the Critical Minerals Ministerial meeting hosted by the US State Department during his ongoing visit to the United States. On the sidelines of the visit, Jaishankar also met US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

The visit comes at a time when India and the United States—two of the world’s largest democracies—are progressing toward a bilateral trade agreement. According to the Minister, the process has now moved into a detailed negotiation phase, with both sides expected to issue a joint statement outlining the key elements of the deal in the near future.

Speaking to ANI in Washington DC, Jaishankar clarified that the trade discussions are being led by Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal.

“It was not with me, because that is being handled by Commerce and Industries Minister Piyush Goyal (the negotiations on the trade deal). The Prime Minister and the US President had a conversation; some announcements came out of it. Thereafter, a detailing of the trade negotiations is underway as we speak.”

He added that clarity on timelines and the formal announcement would come from the Commerce Ministry.

“It is hard for me to say, and the Commerce Minister would know it better, because he is in direct engagement with the US Trade Representative,” he said.

Earlier, addressing Parliament, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal stated that India and the US have concluded negotiations in several key areas of the proposed bilateral trade agreement following extensive discussions.

He informed the House that both sides are now focused on completing technical procedures and finalising documentation to swiftly unlock the agreement’s potential. Describing the framework as a significant milestone, Goyal said it would further strengthen India-US relations and support the goal of a developed India by 2047.

Goyal also noted that the 18 per cent tariff rate announced by US President Donald Trump is lower than those applied to several competing nations, giving India an advantage in export competitiveness.

In his statement, the Minister highlighted that negotiating teams from both countries held multiple rounds of talks over nearly a year to reach a balanced and mutually beneficial understanding, while protecting sensitive sectors.

He emphasised that India’s agriculture and dairy sectors remain safeguarded under the proposed framework.

“The US side, too, had areas that were sensitive from its point of view. Following a nearly year-long discussion spread over many rounds, the two negotiating teams were able to narrow their differences significantly and finalise several areas of the bilateral trade agreement,” Goyal said.

Meanwhile, Jaishankar underlined the significance of the Critical Minerals Ministerial meeting held in Washington.

“It was a very good discussion. Critical minerals are a very important subject. The US has been partnering up for some years. Today, they launched a new initiative called FORGE, which we have supported. It's a kind of successor to the Mineral Security Partnership. Overall, to me, it was a good meeting, very productive, very outcome-oriented, and very businesslike, and that was the core reason I came,” he said.

In his address at the ministerial, Jaishankar also warned that “excessive concentration” in critical mineral supply chains poses a serious global risk. He called for structured international collaboration to “de-risk” supply chains, as India deepens its engagement with US-led initiatives on strategic minerals.

ANI