New Delhi: India’s Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal and US Deputy Trade Representative Rick Switzer held discussions here on Wednesday on the proposed bilateral trade agreement between the two countries.
“The two sides exchanged views on matters related to India-US trade and economic ties including on the ongoing negotiations for a mutually beneficial Bilateral Trade Agreement,” the Commerce Ministry’s Department of Commerce said in a post on X.
Switzer arrived in New Delhi along with a team of US officials for two days of trade discussions with their Indian counterparts.
Ahead of his meeting with the Commerce Ministry officials, Switzer met Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, and their discussions covered the strong India–US economic and technology partnership, ongoing trade negotiations, and opportunities to boost two-way trade and resilient supply chains, the MEA spokesperson said.
Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal struck an optimistic note ahead of the official meeting, saying that “talks are continuously progressing with the US as India is moving ahead towards signing a bilateral trade agreement”.
Commerce Secretary Agrawal said last month that India and the US are “nearing closure” of their talks for signing the first tranche of the proposed Bilateral Trade Agreement.
He told journalists that the two countries have been holding regular virtual rounds of talks on the BTA. Although no formal deadlines can be set on the issue, the first stage of the trade talks is progressing swiftly, he added.
US President Donald Trump sent positive signals on strengthening US-India relations in November, raising fresh hopes that a bilateral trade agreement between the world’s two largest democracies could be signed soon.
Trump told reporters at the White House that his talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi were “going great” and that a visit to Delhi could take place next year.
He said that he plans to “lower tariffs” imposed on India “at some point”, indicating that a breakthrough in the trade talks could come soon.
“I think we’re pretty close to doing a deal (with India) that’s good for everybody,: Trump said, in answer to a question from the media, at the ceremony for swearing in Sergio Gor as the new US Ambassador to India.
However, India has made it clear that it would not compromise on the interests of farmers, the dairy sector, and workers in trade deals that it signs with other countries.
India has already started buying more oil and gas from the US. The move is aimed at reducing India’s trade surplus with the US, an issue that had figured in the earlier rounds of trade talks.
In this context, Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri had announced that India’s public sector oil companies have successfully concluded a one-year structured contract to import around 2.2 million tonnes per annum of LPG from the US Gulf Coast during 2026. This represents close to 10 per cent of India’s annual LPG imports and marks the first such structured LPG contract with the US for the Indian market. The minister described the decision “as a historic development,” noting that one of the world’s largest and fastest growing LPG markets has now opened up to the United States.
(IANS)
