An Indian team of senior-level officials will visit the US this week for trade talks, a top official said on Monday. The official said that the talks with the US on the proposed bilateral trade agreement are progressing well. The report indicates that both parties could be looking at a fall deadline for the first part of the deal.
“The Indian team will visit this week,” the official added.
India, US push ahead with bilateral trade pact talks
In February this year, leaders of the two countries directed officials to negotiate a proposed Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA). It was planned to conclude the first tranche of the pact by the fall (October-November) of 2025. So far, five rounds of negotiations have been completed.
Last month, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal led an official delegation to New York for trade talks. After that meeting, India and the US decided to continue negotiations for an early conclusion of a mutually beneficial bilateral trade agreement. Both sides held constructive meetings on various aspects of the trade deal.
During the visit, the minister held meetings with United States Trade Representative (USTR) Jamieson Greer and US Ambassador-designate to India Sergio Gor.
The negotiations are important as the US imposed a 25% reciprocal tariff and an additional 25% penalty on Indian goods entering the American market for purchasing Russian crude oil. At present, a total of 50% additional import duty is imposed on Indian goods.
India-US trade pact targets $500 billion by 2030
The pact aims to more than double the bilateral trade to $500 billion by 2030, from the current $191 billion.
The US remained India’s largest trading partner for the fourth consecutive year in 2024-25, with bilateral trade valued at $131.84 billion ($86.5 billion exports).
The US accounts for about 18% of India’s total goods exports, 6.22% in imports, and 10.73% in the country’s total merchandise trade.
With the inputs from PTI