India-US trade talks to resume from next week, says Rajesh Agarwal

Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agarwal on Wednesday said the Indian team led by chief negotiator will be visiting the US from April 20, to further discuss India-United States Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA).

Addressing the media in New Delhi, Agarwal said the negotiating teams will be meeting in person after a gap of about 3–4 months. They have been engaging virtually in the meantime.

"We are looking at finalising the legal agreement, which is a logical follow-up of the joint statement released on 7th February. There is a need for further discussions and follow-up engagement to take this forward," he said.

He said the US has initiated investigations involving several countries. Both sides will sit together and discuss how these issues need to be structured and addressed.

"India and the US will work together to finalise timelines and next steps as part of the ongoing engagement," he added.

Earlier, on March 17, the Indian government had said it will sign its proposed trade agreement with the US once a new global tariff framework being developed by Washington becomes clear, indicating that the timeline for the deal is linked to evolving changes in the US tariff regime.

“The US deal was to be signed in March. But tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act do not exist per se due to rulings by the Supreme Court of the US,” Agarwal added indicating that the March deadline for signing the deal would no longer apply.

Meanwhile, Agarwal highlighted that the India -UK trade agreement is likely to become operational in May, marking a conclusion to the long-standing trade negotiations.

Also, it is expected that the India-EU free trade agreement will be signed before the end of this year. Within the current fiscal year, the ministry hopes to implement the agreement, he added.