India, US to discuss specific sectors ahead of trade deal
New Delhi, March 29
India and the US have agreed to hold sector-specific expert engagements to finalise a bilateral trade agreement (BTA). Both sides look to announce the first tranche of goods by September-October 2025.
The decision came after the two sides concluded their four-day trade talks here.
The Commerce Ministry today said “sectoral expert-level engagements under the BTA will start virtually in the coming weeks and pave the way for an early in-person negotiating round”.
“Both sides have broadly come to an understanding on the next steps towards a mutually beneficial, multi-sector BTA,” the ministry said. The two sides had a productive exchange of views on deepening bilateral cooperation in priority areas, including increasing market access, reducing tariff and non-tariff barriers and deepening supply chain integration.
India was represented by Rajesh Aggarwal, Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Commerce, and the US by Brendan Lynch, Trade Representative for South and Central Asia.
Both sides agreed that further steps on the BTA were designed to unlock new opportunities for businesses, drive bilateral economic integration and reinforce the economic partnership. As the talks were on in New Delhi, US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau spoke to Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri over ongoing efforts to reduce tariff barriers.
“They discussed ongoing efforts to reduce barriers to achieve a fair and balanced bilateral trade relationship, strengthen collaboration in defence and technology, and boost security and prosperity throughout the Indo-Pacific region,” said US State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce.
The US Deputy Secretary also thanked the Foreign Secretary for India’s assistance in addressing illegal immigration to the US and sought continued cooperation on the issue, the spokesperson said.
The trade talks come ahead of the April 2 deadline on reciprocal tariffs announced by US President Donald Trump on countries, including India. The talks are a follow up to the India-US Joint Statement of February 13, when the two sides had agreed to expand bilateral trade to reach $500 billion by 2030.
This was followed by a visit to Washington DC by Union Commerce and Industries Minister Piyush Goyal from March 4 to 6 during which he met his US counterparts — US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. — TNS
