BENGALURU: Commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal said on Friday that talks with US for a trade deal were progressing steadily and the two sides were working on the fine print, while asserting that tighter access to H-1B visas can benefit India by encouraging skilled professionals to stay back, bringing more tech work to the country and boosting the startup ecosystem.The minister’s comments come days after USTR Jaimeson Greer said that a deal was not imminent, and FM Nirmala Sitharaman stated that talks had hit a plateau. “Going by what the US itself has said, it has nothing more to add or offer, and the fine print is being worked out,” Goyal said at the ET Startup Awards 2026 held in Bengaluru on Friday.“The key issue is how the US will give us the comparative advantage we had agreed upon in Feb. That requires legal expertise, which AI cannot provide, because this goes beyond the textbook. That is what we are working on,” he said.The trade minister, who just returned from US, said several American companies had outlined their plans for India as they looked to tap the Indian talent pool and highlighted the cost advantage here. “Look at the entire ecosystem and you will realise that every H-1B visa not granted is a big win for India,” Goyal said.Tighter H-1B access could give Indian startups, particularly in deep technology, greater momentum, he said, adding that the sector had significant room to grow in India. Goyal said he had never raised the issue of H-1B visas or green cards in his conversations with US as immigration was not directly related to trade, although the movement of people to deliver services was important.He said a growing share of technology work was coming to Indian cities as companies recognised the value of setting up GCCs here.