New Delhi, Mar 29 (UNI) The four-day India-US trade talks concluded on Saturday with both sides ‘reaching a broad understanding’ on next steps towards mutually-beneficial bilateral trade agreement (BTA).
The Ministry of Commerce in an official statement said that sectoral expert level engagements under the BTA would start virtually in the coming weeks.
The development has come in the wake of US President Donald Trump’s threat to impose “reciprocal” tariffs on countries around the world, including India.
India and the US have set a $500 billion bilateral trade target by 2030.
As a follow up to the India-US joint statement of 13 February 2025, representatives of India’s Department of Commerce and the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) convened trade talks in New Delhi from 26-29 March 2025.
“In order to realize 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 Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA), with the goal to finalize its first tranche by fall 2025,” Ministry of Commerce said in a statement.
It further said that 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.
“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,” Commerce Ministry said.
The four-day trade talk in New Delhi has come close on the heels of Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal’s visit to Washington during which he met his U.S. counterparts – U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.
“The successful conclusion of the discussions reflects progress in efforts to expand India-U.S. bilateral trade and investment relations to promote prosperity, security and innovation in both the 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,” Commerce Ministry said.
