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.

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 @PiyushGoyal. So many areas of cooperation for our two nations!”

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 Jack Hughes in Jodhpur, people familiar with the matter said.

The meeting comes at a critical juncture in India-US trade relations. The Supreme Court struck down Trump’s use of emergency powers under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to impose sweeping tariffs on February 20, forcing his administration to rely on alternative legal provisions.