major-ftas-india-us-trade-pact-to-be-sealed-this-month-goyal

India will operationalise a series of major trade agreements in 2026, beginning with an interim trade pact with the United States in April, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said on Friday. Free trade agreements (FTAs) with the United Kingdom and Oman are also likely to be implemented in the same month, he added.

 

The interim India-US trade agreement is expected to be signed in March and brought into effect in April. Officials from New Delhi and Washington are scheduled to meet in the US on February 23 to finalise the legal text of the agreement, in line with the February 7 joint statement issued by the two countries.

India’s chief negotiator, Darpan Jain, will lead the delegation to Washington next week to conclude discussions on the legal framework of the pact.

 

Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal said the joint statement had laid down the contours of the proposed deal and that both sides were now engaged in translating those contours into a formal legal agreement.

 

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“The joint statement pertains to the framework agreement that was reached between India and the US… The joint statement lays down the contours of the deal. Now the contour of the deal has to be translated into a legal agreement, which will be signed between the two sides. So, both sides are engaged in finalising that legal agreement, as I speak,” he said.

 

Agrawal added that the target was to “finalise, close and sign the legal agreement by March”.

 

On tariffs, he indicated that the 25 per cent punitive duty imposed by the US on India over its Russian oil purchases had “already gone”. Washington is also expected to reduce the remaining 25 per cent reciprocal tariff on Indian merchandise exports to 18 per cent. “I’m told they are processing it. It should be done fast. Our expectation is, it should be done this week,” he said.

 

Beyond the US pact, India’s trade agreement with New Zealand is slated for implementation in September 2026, Goyal noted, signalling a busy year ahead for India’s trade diplomacy.