The Ministry of Commerce has said the trade delegation that visited the US had a fruitful meeting with the authorities there, and that the team discussed the pathway for early conclusion of the Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA).
A team of 3-4 negotiators led by Rajesh Agarwal, secretary-designate, commerce ministry, had visited the US from April 23 -25 for expediting BTA talks. As per the ministry, during the meetings in Washington DC, the team had fruitful discussions on wide ranging subjects covering tariff and non-tariff matters.
“The team discussed the pathway for concluding the first tranche of the mutually beneficial, multi-sector BTA by fall of 2025, including through opportunities for early mutual wins,” said a statement issued by the ministry.
While sectoral expert level engagements have taken place via virtual format, in-person sectoral engagements are planned from May-end. The two countries will start chapter-wise talks under the BTA only in the second half of May. “The texts and contours of those discussions are being prepared currently,” Ministry officials told TNIE.
Both the countries have signed the terms of reference for the BTA. The ministry said the productive discussions are part of bilateral efforts in line with Leaders’ Statement of February 2025 to enhance and expand India-US economic ties and supply chain integration through the BTA.
Earlier, assistant US
trade representative for South and Central Asia Brendan Lynch was in India from March 25-29 for trade discussions with Indian officials. The Indian side is hopeful
that it would be able to complete the first tranche of BTA talks ahead of the September-October deadline.
“The September–October timeline is a deadline, not a target. If negotiations can be concluded earlier, it will benefit both countries. We are aiming to accelerate talks to avoid any adverse outcomes when the pause ends,”
the ministry official had
told TNIE.