New Delhi : An American negotiating team led by a senior official of the US Trade Representative’s Office , Ambassador Rick Switzer, deputy USTR, is reaching New Delhi on Tuesday for a face-to-face deliberation on the proposed first-phase of India-US bilateral trade agreement (BTA), people aware of the development said.
Switzer — a high-ranking officer in the USTR leadership, who recently joined the office in mid-October – will participate in a two-day formal negotiation with the Indian team on Wednesday and Thursday, they said requesting anonymity. He serves USTR for subjects such as Asia, textiles, investment, services, and intellectual property.
He will also be accompanied by assistant trade representative Brendan Lynch, who has been the US’ chief negotiator for India-US BTA negotiations right from the first round of talks in March 2025, they said requesting anonymity.
Switzer is scheduled to meet his Indian counterpart commerce secretary Rajesh Agarwal, while Lynch, will hold negotiations with India’s newly appointed chief negotiator Darpan Jain, who the joint secretary in the ministry commerce and also heading the negotiating team for the European Union.
This is a face-to-face bilateral trade meeting between the two teams, which is not yet formally termed as a BTA round, they said. In all possibilities, talks will concentrate to end the stalemate that came up “suddenly and abruptly” after the US imposed 25% penal tariff on Indian goods for buying Russian oil from August 27, on top of 25% reciprocal tariff levied from August 7, they said.
{{/usCountry}}This is a face-to-face bilateral trade meeting between the two teams, which is not yet formally termed as a BTA round, they said. In all possibilities, talks will concentrate to end the stalemate that came up “suddenly and abruptly” after the US imposed 25% penal tariff on Indian goods for buying Russian oil from August 27, on top of 25% reciprocal tariff levied from August 7, they said.
{{/usCountry}}The imposition of 50% additional tariff on Indian goods paused BTA negotiations after the fifth round in the latter half of August. Bilateral discussions were reinitiated after Lynch held talks with Indian officials in New Delhi in mid-September. So far, six formal rounds of BTA talks have taken place, with the last one held in New Delhi in September, they said.
The developments in the coming days are significant for several reasons. While Indian refiners have almost stopped buying Russian crude, major global economies are scouting India for bilateral trade agreements as it remains the fastest growing major economy of the world with 8.2% GDP growth in the second quarter of FY26, they said.
Immediately after Russian President Vladimir Putin’s Indian visit, a team of the European Union is visited India to negotiate remaining points of an imminent FTA, which they aspire to announce during India-EU Summit in January 2026. Recent developments are expected to see a softening in the US position, which may remove 25% penal tariff to start a sincere negotiation for mutually beneficial early harvest deal, they said.
People aware of the ongoing FTA talks between India and the EU in New Delhi said the 27-nation bloc is here with a big delegation.
In a post on X, Union commerce minister Piyush Goyal said, “Held a productive meeting with EU Trade and Economic Security Commissioner, Mr. @MarosSefcovic. We discussed the progress on the India-EU FTA and explored ways to resolve the issues to further advance the negotiations. Looking forward to continued cooperation towards a mutually beneficial India-EU FTA.”
He was responding to the commissioner’s post, “In India for a two-day marathon of meetings with @PiyushGoyal to advance our trade and investment negotiations. EU-India ties are growing fast - as they should between partners. But we’ve only scratched the surface. A commercially meaningful FTA would unlock enormous potential.”