India, US work out roadmap for trade dialogue; EAM says ready for ‘urgency’

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday announced a 90-day pause on most tariff hikes for major trading partners, including India, while raising the levy on China.

"We are far ahead in trade talks with the US as compared to other countries ... there are lots of possibilities in 90 days," said an Indian official quoted by news agency Reuters. The official was giving details of the progress made by India and the US in the talks.

Will protect nation's interests: Goyal

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Friday said India was in talks with the US on the proposed bilateral trade pact and the government would safeguard the nation's interests as it was never advisable to take any step in undue haste.

The discussions between the countries would continue virtually and regularly, the official said, adding that there could be some delegation-level visits from both sides as part of the dialogue.

Meanwhile, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Friday said India was prepared for a high degree of "urgency" on concluding a trade agreement with the US.

Jaishankar warned that the world was barrelling towards deep turmoil and economic upheaval amid escalating tension between the US and China over the tariff issue, and that India must be ready to safeguard its interests.

Speaking at the Global Tech Summit, Jaishankar said reaching an agreement had become very challenging as the US was "very ambitious". The minister said, "Normally, a complaint was made about us in the past that we were slowing it (the talks) down. Today, it’s the other way around. We are trying to communicate that urgency.”

India and the US have conceptually agreed on having a bilateral trade agreement by September-October. “We will find a fix that will work for both," he added.

During a meeting in Washington in February, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Trump had agreed to finalise the first tranche of the deal. A US delegation led by Assistant Trade Representative Brendan Lynch visited Delhi in March to hammer out the details.

The Trump administration had announced a 26 per cent tariff on Indian goods earlier this month. Responding to it, New Delhi had said it would "negotiate and not retaliate". The India-US bilateral trade stood at $129 billion in 2024.

Also, India has asked its customs authorities to step up scrutiny of exports and imports of goods to ensure the country is not used as a conduit to re-route goods to the US.