India To Send Delegation To US For Fresh Trade Talks Next Week

(MENAFN- Live Mint) An Indian delegation will reach the US on Monday on a three-day visit to advance talks for a proposed bilateral trade agreement that has been under discussion for several months.

The Indian delegation will be led by chief negotiator Darpan Jain, a joint secretary in the ministry of commerce and industry.

"The Indian team led by the chief negotiator will be visiting the US from 20th of this month. The negotiating teams will be meeting in person after a gap of about 3-4 months. They have been engaging virtually in the meantime,” said Rajesh Agrawal, secretary in the ministry of commerce and industry, at a media briefing on Wednesday.

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“We are looking at finalizing 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 added.

In February, both sides announced that they had agreed on the broad contours of the first phase of their proposed bilateral trade agreement. Under this arrangement, the US was to reduce tariffs on Indian exports to around 18%, from 50% earlier.

The tariff landscape in the US, however, changed after America's Supreme Court set aside the broad reciprocal duties introduced by president Donald Trump. Subsequently, the US government brought in a temporary, uniform tariff of 10% on imports from all countries for a 150-day period beginning 24 February.

Against this backdrop, a scheduled meeting between the chief negotiators of the two countries was postponed last month. The two sides were earlier expected to meet in February to conclude the legal text of the agreement.

“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.

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The announcement of Indian trade delegation's visit comes a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi received a call from Trump.

“Received a call from my friend President Donald Trump. We reviewed the substantial progress achieved in our bilateral cooperation in various sectors. We are committed to further strengthening our Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership in all areas. We also discussed the situation in West Asia and stressed the importance of keeping the Strait of Hormuz open and secure," said on social media platform X.

The US remains India's top export destination, with shipments rising to $87.31 billion in FY26, up from $86.51 billion in the previous year. Imports from the US also increased significantly to $52.90 billion, compared with $45.63 billion in 2024-25, indicating a broad-based strengthening of bilateral trade.

Earlier, commerce minister Piyush Goyal held a meeting with US trade representative Jamieson Greer on 27 March, to discuss the next steps in the India-US trade negotiations.

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Goyal called it a“very productive discussion” in a post on X, adding that they discussed the“next steps in the India-US BTA (bilateral trade agreement) negotiations and explored ways to further deepen our economic cooperation and bilateral trade ties”.

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