India, U.S. Expected to Sign First Bilateral Trade Agreement Soon, Goyal Says
NEW DELHI — India and the United States are expected to sign their first bilateral trade agreement soon, with most negotiations already completed and only a few issues left to resolve, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said Monday.
Goyal said the two countries will continue discussions on a second phase of the agreement after the initial pact is signed.
“We will very soon announce the signing of the first BTA with the U.S. and continue our conversations on the second phase,” Goyal said.
He said talks between the two sides are scheduled from June 2 to June 4, after which the first phase of the agreement is expected to be announced.
According to Goyal, about 99% of the negotiations have been completed. The remaining discussions are expected to focus on finalizing the legal text and resolving outstanding details in the proposed interim agreement.
The U.S. delegation will be led by chief negotiator Brendan Lynch, while India’s team will be headed by Darpan Jain, additional secretary in the Department of Commerce, according to the government.
The negotiations are aimed at advancing the first phase of a broader bilateral trade agreement covering market access, non-tariff barriers, customs and trade facilitation, investment promotion and economic security cooperation.
The talks come after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against President Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariff regime in February, which had been implemented under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977.
After the ruling, the U.S. administration introduced a uniform 10% tariff on imports from all countries for 150 days beginning Feb. 24. The change in tariff structure led to the postponement of an earlier planned meeting between chief negotiators.
Discussions later resumed in Washington in April, when an Indian delegation led by Jain visited the United States from April 20 to April 23. (Source: IANS)
