India-US trade agreement to be signed; 19-chapter draft ready; Washington will host negotiations

The finalised terms of reference (TOR) by the two countries for the proposed bilateral trade agreement between the US and India comprise nearly 19 chapters.

These have been stated to consist of things like customs facilitation, services, and goods. In an attempt to accelerate the talks, an Indian official delegation is to travel to the US next week to iron out disagreements on some of the matters before actually beginning the talks for the proposed India-US bilateral trade agreement (BTA).

The Indian chief negotiator, Rajesh Agarwal, Commerce Additional Secretary, will head the delegation for the first-ever meeting between the two countries. Agarwal was nominated to become the commerce secretary from April 18. From October 1, he will assume charge.

The three-day official Indian team talks with US counterparts to be held in Washington are to start on Wednesday (April 23), the official confirmed. The visit follows closely on the heels of the visit of the US high-level team to India. The development indicates that the BTA talks are gaining momentum.

Last month, senior official-level talks were held between the two countries. Assistant US Trade Representative for South and West Asia Brendan Lynch was in India from March 25 to 29 for crucial trade discussions with Indian officials.

Both sides want to make use of the 90-day moratorium on tariffs announced by US President Donald Trump on April 9. Earlier, on April 15, Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal had said that India would try to conclude the talks with the US as soon as possible.

He said India has decided to take the path of trade liberalisation with the US. The two sides aim to complete the first phase of the agreement by autumn of this year (September-October), which aims to double bilateral trade to $500 billion by 2030 from about $191 billion at present. Under the trade agreement, the two countries significantly reduce and eliminate customs duties on a maximum of goods traded. They also ease norms to promote trade in services and boost investment.

The US is India's largest trading partner from 2021-22 to 2024-25. The US accounts for about 18 per cent of India's total merchandise exports, 6.22 per cent of imports, and 10.73 per cent of bilateral trade. With the US, India has a trade surplus (difference between imports and exports) of $41.18 billion in 2024-25. It was $35.32 billion in 2023-24, $27.7 billion in 2022-23, $32.85 billion in 2021-22, and $22.73 billion in 2020-21.