Indian team to visit US this week for trade talks

A team of senior officials from India will visit the US this week for trade talks, and negotiations on the proposed bilateral trade agreement are progressing well, a top official said on Monday.

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.

“The Indian team will visit this week. Negotiations are going in a positive direction. Both sides are of the view that talks should be fast-tracked,” the official added.

The team of three Indian officials is expected to visit Washington from October 15-17. Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal is also likely to join the talks.

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.

During the visit, the minister held meetings with United States Trade Representative (USTR) Jamieson Greer and US Ambassador-designate to India Sergio Gor.

These deliberations are important as the relations between the two countries have been reeling under severe stress after the Trump administration imposed a steep tariff of 50 per cent on Indian goods. It includes a 25 per cent additional import duty for buying Russian crude oil.

India has described these duties as “unfair, unjustified and unreasonable”.

The Indian industry has also raised concerns over Trump’s new policy on H1B visas.

However, the recent phone conversations between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump have raised hopes for a positive outcome from the ongoing negotiations for the trade deal.

After a brief gap, Assistant US Trade Representative for South and Central Asia Brendan Lynch held talks with Indian officials here in New Delhi on September 16. In that meeting, both sides agreed to push for an early and mutually beneficial conclusion of the agreement.

Talks for the sixth round, which were scheduled from August 25-29, were postponed following the imposition of the high import duties.

On whether India is looking at buying more gas from the US, the official said: “We may require gas in the long run in more quantities”.

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has earlier stated that India expects to increase its trade with the US in energy products in the years to come, and the country’s energy security goals will have a significant element of US involvement.

Last week, Gor held talks with the Commerce Secretary on India-US economic ties.

The proposed pact aims to more than double the bilateral trade to USD 500 billion by 2030 from the current USD 191 billion.

The US remained India’s largest trading partner for the fourth consecutive year in 2024-25, with bilateral trade valued at USD 131.84 billion (USD 86.5 billion exports).

The US accounts for about 18 per cent of India’s total goods exports, 6.22 per cent in imports, and 10.73 per cent in the country’s total merchandise trade.

“During my visit to India, I met with Commerce Secretary Agrawal and discussed US-India economic ties, including increased investment in the United States,” the ambassador-designate has said on X.

Gor, the White House personnel director and a loyal member of President Trump’s inner circle, was nominated as the next American envoy to India in August.