India, US inch closer to trade deal as talks make ‘positive progress’
India and US trade talks are progressing well, with both sides expressing confidence on Tuesday in the early conclusion of the bilateral trade agreement (BTA) currently under negotiation. The Indian BTA negotiating team, led by Special Secretary Commerce Rajesh Agarwal, met with their US counterparts in Washington over the past few days, with the commerce ministry describing the meetings as positive.
Future-proof pact
According to a report, India is prepared to offer a sweetener in trade negotiations to ‘future-proof’ the deal, ensuring no other trade partner secures more favourable terms
An official statement from India said, “As part of ongoing discussions on the India-US Bilateral Trade Agreement, representatives of India’s Department of Commerce and the Office of the US Trade Representative met in Washington, DC, from April 23-25. This follows earlier bilateral discussions held in March in New Delhi. During the meetings in Washington, DC, the team had fruitful discussions on wide-ranging subjects covering tariff and non-tariff matters.”
A similar sentiment was echoed by the US, which stated it was very close to finalising a trade deal with India. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent noted that negotiating with Delhi was easier due to the high tariffs. Speaking at the White House today, he said talks with India were moving well. On Monday, Bessent had told a TV channel that India was likely among the first countries to finalise a BTA with the US to avert reciprocal tariffs.
“America’s Asian trading partners and allies have been the most forthcoming in terms of doing the deals. As I mentioned, Vice-President Vance was in India last week. I think that he and (Prime Minister Narendra) Modi made some very good progress. So I could see some announcements on India," Bessent said today. He added that he could also see the contours of a deal with South Korea coming together, along with substantial talks with Japan.
The Indian side stated that official negotiators discussed the pathway for concluding the first tranche of the mutually beneficial, multi-sector BTA by the fall of 2025, including opportunities for early mutual gains. "While productive sectoral expert-level engagements have taken place virtually, in-person sectoral engagements are planned from the end of May. The productive discussions are part of bilateral efforts in line with the Leaders’ Statement of February 2025 to enhance and expand India-US economic ties and supply chain integration through the agreement,” the Indian side said.
Meanwhile, Reuters reported that India was prepared to include a sweetener in trade talks to future-proof the deal by ensuring no other trade partners could secure superior terms. "A forward most-favoured-nation clause, rarely granted by India in previous trade negotiations, would automatically apply to the US,” the agency said, quoting sources.
