Indian, US officials meet in Washington to discuss bilateral trade agreement

As part of ongoing negotiations on the India-US Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA), Indian representatives met US officials in Washington last week to chart a course for “early mutual wins” or an initial tranche of the proposed pact, the Department of Commerce said on Tuesday.

While sector-specific expert-level discussions have so far been held virtually, in-person engagements are scheduled to begin by the end of May.

These discussions align with the Leaders’ Statement issued in February 2025, which aims to deepen India-US economic ties and strengthen supply chain integration through the proposed agreement.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Monday said many top trading partners of the United States had made ‘very good’ proposals to avert US tariffs, and one of the first deals to be signed would likely be with India.

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Indian, US officials begin talks on Bilateral Trade Agreement today in Washington India-US trade deal likely to be one of first pacts under Trump, says Bessent

Speaking to reporters after two early morning television interviews, Bessent said the first such trade agreement might come this week or next, but gave no further details.

Bessent told Fox News’ “FOX and Friends” that President Donald Trump will be “intimately involved” in each of the bespoke trade deals with each of 15 to 18 important trading partners, but it will be important to reach agreements in principle soon.

Trump has upended the global trading system with a spate of tariffs since taking office. These include a blanket 10% tariff on most countries except Canada and Mexico, and new tariffs totalling 145% on goods from China, which has responded with its own counter-measures. Higher US tariffs on dozens of countries are due to take effect on July 8 unless deals are reached before a 90-day pause ends.

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India is also working a bilateral trade deal with Britain, with their top trade officials starting two days of talks aimed at concluding more than three years of negotiations.