India, US Aim To Finalise First Tranche Of 'Mutually Beneficial' Multi-Sector Bilateral Trade Agreement By Late 2025

India and the United States are on track to finalise the first tranche of a multi-sector Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) by late 2025.

This comes after a series of discussions held in New Delhi from 26-29 Marc between officials from India’s Department of Commerce and the US Trade Representative's Office.

The talks come as part of the broader framework outlined in the India-US Joint Statement of 13 February, which set the goal of increasing bilateral trade to $500 billion by 2030, including through the conclusion of a Bilateral Trade Agreement.

During these discussions, both sides focused on key priorities such as improving market access, reducing tariff and non-tariff barriers, and strengthening supply chain integration in a mutually beneficial manner.

"In order to realize the shared objective of promoting growth that ensures fairness, national security and job creation, both sides have through four-days of discussions in New Delhi broadly come to an understanding on the next steps towards a mutually beneficial, multi-sector Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA), with the goal to finalize its first tranche by fall 2025," the Ministry of Commerce said in a statement on Saturday (29 March).

The ministry added that the sectoral expert level engagements between the two countries under the BTA will start virtually in the coming weeks and pave the path for an early negotiating round in person.

The meeting in New Delhi follows the visit of Union Commerce and Industries Minister Piyush Goyal to Washington DC from 4-6 March, during which he met his US counterparts – US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and subsequent video conferences between the two sides, according to the ministry.

The successful conclusion of the discussions reflects progress in efforts to expand India-US bilateral trade and investment relations to promote prosperity, security and innovation in both the countries, the ministry said.

The ministry added that both the countries have "expressed satisfaction with the outcomes of the meeting and reaffirmed their dedication to ongoing collaboration".

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