Indian delegation to visit Washington to finalise details of US trade agreement
Rajesh Agrawal, who is an additional secretary in the Department of Commerce, will lead the team for the first in-person talks with the US.
An Indian delegation will visit Washington next week to iron out pending issues before formally launching negotiations on the proposed India-US bilateral trade agreement.
The visit follows the finalisation of the terms of reference (ToRs) for the deal, which is expected to cover around 19 chapters on areas such as goods, services, and customs facilitation.
HT was the first to report on the finalisation of the trade terms.
India's chief negotiator, Rajesh Agrawal, who is an additional secretary in the Department of Commerce, will lead the team for the first in-person talks with the US.
Agrawal was named the next commerce secretary on April 18 and will take office on October 1.
The three-day talks between the Indian and US teams will begin in Washington on Wednesday, April 23, an official told PTI.
This visit, coming just weeks after a high-level US delegation visited India, shows that the talks on the Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) are picking up pace.
It also follows senior-level discussions held between the two countries last month in India.
Brendan Lynch, the assistant US trade representative for South and Central Asia, visited India from March 25 to 29 for key trade talks with Indian officials.
Both countries are looking to make the most of the 90-day tariff pause announced by US President Donald Trump on April 9.
On April 15, Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal said that India aims to wrap up the negotiations with the US as quickly as possible. He also mentioned that India has chosen to pursue trade liberalisation with the US.
India, US eye USD 500 billion trade by 2030
India and the US have been negotiating a bilateral trade agreement since March. They aim to complete the first phase of the deal by this autumn (September to October) and hope to more than double their current bilateral trade from around USD 191 billion to USD 500 billion by 2030.
In a trade agreement, two countries either reduce or remove customs duties on as many goods as possible. They also simplify rules to encourage trade in services and attract more investment.
The US is seeking tariff concessions in areas such as certain industrial goods, electric vehicles, wines, petrochemicals, dairy, and agricultural products like apples, tree nuts, and alfalfa hay. On the other hand, India may push for lower duties on labour-intensive sectors like apparel, textiles, gems and jewellery, leather, plastics, chemicals, oilseeds, shrimp, and horticultural products.
From 2021–22 to 2024–25, the US has been India's largest trading partner.
Currently, the US accounts for about 18 per cent of India's total goods exports, 6.22 per cent of imports, and 10.73 per cent of overall bilateral trade.
With PTI inputs
