India and the United States are on track to conclude the first tranche of a bilateral trade agreement by the middle of next month, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Friday, signalling significant progress in negotiations aimed at deepening economic ties between the two countries.”We had excellent discussions from June 2 to 4. We had a full team of officials from different divisions of trade from the US in Delhi. I also met them on Thursday and we are fast moving towards closing all the open ends,” Goyal said.”Sometime by the middle of the next month or so, we should be in a position to execute a very vibrant first tranche. It is only the first tranche of our bilateral trade agreement which will give preferential access to India over our competitors. I expect an even higher-level delegation to be coming to India probably towards the end of this month,” he added.Goyal’s remarks came just hours after US President Donald Trump expressed confidence that Washington and New Delhi would soon reach a trade agreement, even as he claimed that India had for years “taken advantage” of the United States through high tariffs.Speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump said he expected the ongoing negotiations to culminate in a deal soon and cited his close relationship with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.”I like your Prime Minister a lot. He is a good friend of mine, and we get along well. We have a good relationship,” Trump said.”For years, India took advantage of the United States. They charged us tremendous tariffs and paid nothing. Now it is the exact reverse and we are making a lot of money with India. But we will get to a deal,” he added.The latest round of negotiations in New Delhi focused on market access, tariff barriers, supply chains and sector-specific trade concerns. Officials on both sides are working to finalise the first phase of a broader bilateral trade arrangement that is expected to provide India preferential access to the US market in several sectors.The proposed pact comes amid a broader push by New Delhi and Washington to strengthen economic engagement alongside their expanding strategic partnership. Bilateral trade between the two countries has grown steadily in recent years, making the US one of India’s largest trading partners.