The next round of talks on the proposed bilateral trade agreement (BTA) between India and the US may begin on December 10, say sources familiar with the matter, adding that the two countries are keen to finalise the first phase of the pact before the year ends.
The three-day talks are crucial as India and the US are working to finalise the first tranche of the pact, which was initially planned to be concluded by fall of 2025, they added.
“The three-day talks will start on December 10. It will conclude on December 12, and it is not a formal round of talks,” said one of the sources.
India and the US are having two parallel negotiations – one on a framework trade deal to address tariffs and another on a comprehensive trade deal.
The US team will be led by Deputy United States Trade Representative (USTR) Rick Switzer, with its visit marking the team’s second trip to India since the imposition of a 25 per cent tariff and an additional ‘punitive’ 25 per cent penalty on Indian goods entering the American market due to purchases of Russian crude oil.
The US officials had last visited India on September 16, following which India’s Commerce and Industry Minister, Piyush Goyal, led an official delegation to the US for trade talks on September 22.
Also Read: First tranche of India-US trade deal may be final soon: Official
Although leaders of the two countries directed officials in February to negotiate an agreement, Goyal had visited Washington in May for the talks.
While the USA’s chief negotiator for the pact is Assistant US Trade Representative for South and Central Asia, Brendan Lynch, the Indian side is led by Joint Secretary in the Department of Commerce, Darpan Jain.
Recently, Commerce Secretary, Rajesh Agrawal, stated that India is hopeful of reaching a framework trade deal with the US in 2025 itself, and intent on addressing the tariff issue to the benefit of Indian exporters.
While acknowledging that concluding the BTA may take longer, Agrawal added that India is engaged in protracted negotiations with the US on a framework trade deal that will address the reciprocal tariff challenge faced by Indian exporters.
So far, six rounds of negotiations have been held between India and the US. The agreement aims to more than double bilateral trade to USD 500 billion by 2030, from the current USD 191 billion, since US remains India’s largest trading partner for the fourth consecutive year in 2024-25.
Bilateral trade was valued at USD 131.84 billion (USD 86.5 billion exports) in 2024-25.
The US accounts for about 18 per cent of India’s total goods exports, 6.22 per cent of its imports, and 10.73 per cent of its total merchandise trade.
According to exporters, the agreement is important as India’s merchandise exports to the US declined for the second consecutive month in October, falling by 8.58 per cent to USD 6.3 billion due to the hefty tariffs imposed by Washington.
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