The proposed bilateral trade agreement between the United States and India is nearing completion and could boost significant economic opportunities for both the countries, said Christopher Landau, Deputy Secretary of the US Department of State, on Thursday.
During his address at the Raisina Dialogue 2026 in New Delhi, Landau said the partnership between United States and India must rest on reciprocity, mutual respect and shared interests. He noted that negotiations on the bilateral trade pact are “close to the finish line” and carry substantial economic promise for the two economies.
India and US announced the conclusions of negotiations of the first tranche of the trade agreement with the deal likely to be signed by March. However, with the verdict of the US Supreme Court striking down the tariff imposed by the US President Donald Trump, there has been some slowdown in the momentum. The scheduled visit of the Indian negotiating team to the US in the last week of February also got rescheduled without a new date of visit being finalised. However, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal met US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Ambassador Sergio Gor on last Thursday and discussed trade and economic partnership between India and the United States.
Beyond commerce, Landau emphasised the wider strategic convergence between Washington, D.C. and New Delhi. According to him, the two countries share strong security priorities, including cooperation in counterterrorism and efforts to uphold freedom of navigation.
His remarks reflected the expanding alignment between the United States and India across economic and security domains, as both countries aim to deepen collaboration amid an increasingly complex global environment.
While the two countries are yet to implement the trade deal, the proposed tariff of 15% across-the-board by the US administration is expected to be effective later this week, up from the current 10%, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Wednesday during a media interaction. He also added that by August, overall US tariff levels are likely to revert to their pre-court ruling position, even though the US Supreme Court invalidated the steeper duties Trump had imposed unilaterally on most trading partners last year.