India, US agree to finalise first tranche of bilateral trade agreement by fall 2025
India an US on Saturday concluded their talks in the national capital, broadly reaching an understanding to finalise the first tranche of the BTA by fall 2025
- NEW DELHI — In a
bid to expand their bilateral trade to $500 billion by 2030, India and the US
on Saturday concluded their talks in the national capital, broadly reaching an
understanding to finalise the first tranche of the bilateral trade agreement
(BTA) by fall 2025.
-
- As a follow-up to the India-US joint statement of February
13 during the successful meeting of Prime Minister Narendra Modi with US
President Donald Trump, representatives of India’s Department of Commerce and
the Office of the US Trade Representative convened in New Delhi from March
26-29.
-
- In a statement, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry said
that in order to realise 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 BTA, with the goal to finalise its
first tranche by fall 2025.
-
- “Sectoral expert level engagements under the BTA will start
virtually in the coming weeks and pave the path for an early negotiating round
in person,” the ministry informed.
-
- During these discussions, the two sides also had a
productive exchange of views on deepening bilateral cooperation in priority
areas, including increasing market access, reducing tariff and non-tariff
barriers and deepening supply chain integration in a mutually beneficial
manner.
-
- “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 countries. These steps
are designed to unlock new opportunities for businesses, drive bilateral
economic integration, and reinforce the economic partnership between India and
the United States,” according to the ministry statement.
-
- The meeting followed the visit of Union Commerce and
Industries Minister, Piyush Goyal, to Washington, D.C. earlier this month,
during which he met his US counterparts –Trade Representative Jamieson Greer
and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and subsequent video conferences between
the two sides.
-
- Both sides look forward to building on this milestone in the
coming months to finalise the BTA, ensuring it aligns with the shared goals of
prosperity, resilience, and mutual benefit.
