India, Oct. 20 -- Commerce minister Piyush Goyal said on Saturday that trade negotiations with the US are proceeding in a cordial environment even as he underlined that India will continue to assert that crucial national interests, especially of its vulnerable stakeholders such as farmers, dairy farmers, fisherfolk and MSMEs, are not compromised.

Whether or not a trade deal happens isn't something entirely in the control of the government of India or its negotiators. The Donald Trump administration has established a reputation for flip-flops on its standards in such negotiations, and its approach to bilateral discussions is often to introduce a third element, which is not necessarily germane to the issues being discussed. The US's unfair...