India and the United States have reaffirmed their commitment to concluding a mutually beneficial trade agreement aimed at strengthening bilateral trade and economic ties, according to an official statement issued on Thursday.
Chief negotiators of both countries concluded four days of talks held between June 1 and June 4.
"The engagements were marked by a spirit of cooperation and pragmatism, with both sides reaffirming their commitment to concluding a mutually beneficial agreement that strengthens bilateral trade and economic ties," the commerce ministry said.
The ministry said the two sides held constructive and positive discussions across a wide range of issues, including trade in goods, non-tariff measures, customs and trade facilitation, economic security alignment and other areas of mutual interest.
The US delegation was led by chief negotiator Brendan Lynch, while India's chief negotiator was Darpan Jain, additional secretary in the Department of Commerce.
Following the finalisation of the framework for the first phase of the bilateral trade agreement (BTA), both sides are now working to conclude the details of an interim trade pact while continuing negotiations on the broader BTA.
Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Monday that India and the US have finalised most elements of the first phase of the BTA, with discussions now focused on a few remaining issues, which he described as “commas and full stops”.
On February 7, both countries issued a joint statement finalising the contours of the first phase framework of the BTA or interim trade deal.
Under that framework, the US had agreed to reduce tariffs on India to 18 per cent from 50 per cent. It had also removed 25 per cent tariffs on Indian goods linked to purchases of Russian oil and was to reduce the remaining 25 per cent duty to 18 per cent under the pact.
However, on February 20, the US Supreme Court ruled against President Donald Trump’s sweeping reciprocal tariffs imposed under the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).
Following this, the US President announced a 10 per cent tariff on all countries for 150 days starting February 24.
In light of these developments, both sides met in Washington in April, when the Indian team led by Darpan Jain visited the US from April 20 to April 23, 2026.
To continue those discussions, the US team travelled to India for the latest round of talks.
As the tariff environment in the US has changed, both sides may revisit the framework of the agreement.
Under the earlier agreed framework, India had proposed to eliminate or reduce tariffs on all US industrial goods and several food and agricultural products, including dried distillers' grains (DDGs), red sorghum for animal feed, tree nuts, fresh and processed fruit, soybean oil, wine and spirits, and other items.
New Delhi had also expressed its intention to purchase USD 500 billion worth of US energy products, aircraft and aircraft parts, precious metals, technology products, and coking coal over the next five years.
At the time the framework was agreed, India had a comparative advantage over competing countries such as Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Bangladesh.
However, with all US trading partners now facing a uniform 10 per cent tariff, the agreement requires recalibration.
Experts say India would need to secure an advantage over competing countries on the tariff front in the trade pact.
Following the US Supreme Court ruling against Trump’s reciprocal tariffs, the US administration now has the option of using the Section 301 investigation mechanism to impose new tariffs.
In March, the US Trade Representative (USTR) launched two unilateral Section 301 investigations against several countries, including India, over excess capacity and alleged failures to eradicate forced labour in global supply chains.
On June 2, the USTR proposed imposing 12.5 per cent tariffs on 54 countries, including India, for allegedly failing to prohibit the import of goods produced with forced labour.
The proposal follows investigations launched in March against 60 countries under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 over concerns related to forced labour.
The measure remains a proposal and has not yet been finalised, the USTR said, adding that interested parties may submit requests to appear at hearings and summaries of testimony by June 22. The USTR is scheduled to hold hearings on July 7.
The United States was India’s second-largest trading partner in 2025–26. India’s exports to the US grew marginally by 0.92 per cent to USD 87.3 billion during the last fiscal year, while imports rose 15.95 per cent to USD 52.9 billion. The trade surplus declined to USD 34.4 billion in 2025–26 from USD 40.89 billion in 2024–25.
(With inputs from PTI)