India is in discussion with the US for a trade agreement , which is structured in three tranches, Bloomberg reported. Both parties are expected to reach an interim agreement before July, the report said citing officials aware if the matter.
The interim deal will likely cover areas including market access for industrial goods, some farm products and addressing some non-tariff barriers, such as quality control requirements, the report said.
The trade negotiations between India and the United States are still underway, with no official confirmation yet on whether the Trump administration has accepted India’s proposed three-stage framework for a trade deal.
Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal is presently in Washington on a four-day visit, which will conclude today. During the trip, he is scheduled to meet with US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to push forward the discussions. Notably, US President Donald Trump's 90-day pause on tariffs will end on July 9.
India was one of the very first countries to begin trade negotiations with the US. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was one of the first world leaders to visit Washington in February and meet Trump. Both leaders agreed to boost trade and work toward concluding the first tranche of the bilateral deal by fall of this year.
During US Vice President JD Vance's visit to New Delhi last month, both parties have finalised the terms of reference outlining the roadmap for negotiations of the proposed Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA). Even as India slashed duty on many US goods already, such as motorcycles and synthetic flavouring essences, now it seems to be taking a firm stance. According to a document submitted to the World Trade Organisation, India is looking at levying import duties on some products made in the United States to counter Washington's tariffs on steel and aluminium products.
New Delhi also disputed Trump's claim that India has offered to drop all tariffs on goods imported from his country. Responding to Washington's claim, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said that any trade deal has to be mutually beneficial and work for both countries.
