India is likely to sign an interim trade deal with the United States by July 9 — with bilateral talks likely to culminate by fall 2025. The assertion came even as New Delhi saw its trade deficit narrow sharply to $21.88 billion in May amidst a slowdown in imports and seasonal improvement in exports. The sweeping tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump appear to have had a limited impact with Indian exports to the other country expanding to $17.25 billion in April-May, up from $14.17 billion a year earlier.
“India and the US are aiming to sign an interim deal before July 9. India-U.S. bilateral trade deal talks are progressing, sticking to the timeline of signing a deal by fall 2025…India-US target of ‘doubling’ bilateral trade will not be possible without tariff cuts,” a trade ministry official told Reuters.
Trump’s flip-flops on import tariffs and the uncertainty over his 90-day pause on reciprocal duties for major global trading partners — including a 26% tariff for India until July 9 — had left exporters unnerved in recent months. This, in turn, had prompted many of them to front-load shipments.
Meanwhile, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi revealed on Monday that the country expects to finalise a free trade agreement with the European Union by the end of this year. The remarks were delivered during his two-day official visit to Cyprus — which comes ahead of the island’s EU presidency in 2026. The PM also noted that there were ‘unlimited possibilities’ of expanding economic ties with Cyprus during the visit aimed at pushing forward India’s global trade agenda.
“We are working on finalising a mutually beneficial India-EU trade agreement by the end of this year…We agree the India – Middle East Europe Corridor will pave the way for peace and prosperity in the region,” Modi said in joint remarks with Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides.
“A strengthening of EU-India relations will be among the priorities of the Cypriot EU presidency,” Christodoulides added.
(With inputs from agencies)