New Delhi: India and the United States are set to sign their first bilateral trade agreement (BTA) very soon, with most discussions already concluded and only a few issues remaining to be addressed, Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal said on Monday.
According to the minister, the two sides will continue discussions on the second phase of the agreement after the signing of the initial pact.
He added that conversations between the two countries are scheduled to take place from June 2 to June 4, after which the first phase of the agreement is expected to be announced.
“We will very soon announce the signing of the first BTA with the US and continue our conversations on the second phase,” Goyal said.
Goyal noted that around 99 per cent of the talks have already been completed, with only a few remaining issues being addressed.
The talks are expected to focus on finalising the legal text and remaining details of the proposed interim pact, whose broad framework was earlier agreed between the two sides.
According to the government, the US 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.
The negotiations are aimed at advancing the first phase of the broader Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA), which covers key areas including market access, non-tariff barriers, customs and trade facilitation, investment promotion, and economic security cooperation.
Notably, the US Supreme Court ruled against President Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariff regime in February, which had been implemented under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) of 1977.
Following the ruling, the US administration introduced a uniform 10 per cent tariff on imports from all countries for 150 days beginning February 24. The shift in tariff structure led to the postponement of an earlier planned meeting between chief negotiators in the month.
Discussions later resumed in Washington in April, when an Indian delegation led by Jain visited the US from April 20 to April 23.
(IANS)
