NEW DELHI, India — India and the United States are close to finalizing the first phase of a long-anticipated bilateral trade agreement, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said Monday, as negotiations continue in Washington.
“We have almost finalised the free trade agreement, the first tranche of the bilateral trade agreement with them,” Goyal told reporters.
A delegation led by chief negotiator Darpan Jain is in Washington for a three-day round of talks from April 20 to April 22, focusing on key aspects of the deal, including how India can secure preferential access to U.S. markets over competing nations.
“We are trying to work out what would be the mechanism by which India can get preferential market access in the U.S. market compared to our competitors,” Goyal said, adding that the visiting team will work through those details during the meetings.
The negotiations had previously been delayed after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down former President Donald Trump’s broad reciprocal tariff measures, ruling that the executive branch had overstepped its authority by using emergency powers to impose sweeping import duties.
That decision prompted both sides to postpone a planned February meeting in Washington, allowing time to assess the implications of the ruling. The talks have since been rescheduled.
Following the court’s decision, Trump increased global tariffs from 10 percent to 15 percent, adding further complexity to the trade discussions.
Before the ruling, the two countries had been nearing agreement on the first phase of the deal, with the U.S. side prepared to reduce tariffs on certain Indian goods to 18 percent. However, changes in the U.S. tariff structure have required both sides to revisit parts of the framework.
In addition to tariff issues, the current round of talks is expected to address a Section 301 investigation launched last month by the Office of the United States Trade Representative. The probe covers India, China, and dozens of other economies, examining whether their policies related to banning imports made with forced labor are inadequate or discriminatory and whether they place an undue burden on U.S. commerce.
The outcome of the ongoing negotiations could shape the next phase of economic ties between the two countries, which have been working to deepen trade and investment cooperation in recent years. (Source: IANS)
