India-US Ties: New Delhi, Washington To Hold Trade Talks From December 10 – What’s On The Cards? | India News
India-US Trade Talks: India and the USA will hold trade talks in New Delhi from December 10. The talks aim to advance Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) negotiations between the two countries. India and the US initially aimed to complete the first tranche of the agreement by autumn 2025, but different developments took place in the US trade policy environment, including tariffs.
ANI reported on trade talks between India and the US on Saturday, citing government sources. Meanwhile, earlier, on November 28, India’s Commerce Minister Rajesh Agarwal, the chief negotiator of the agreement, had shown hope of signing the first tranche of the India-US Bilateral Trade Agreement within this calendar year.
Addressing the FICCI Annual General Meeting, he stated that the talks have progressed significantly despite the recent changes in global trade conditions.
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Referring to the negotiations so far, he said, “I think our expectations….we are very optimistic and very hopeful that we will find a solution within this calendar year.” he said.
Trump’s Tariffs on India
Citing New Delhi’s continued purchase of Russian oil, US President Donald Trump imposed a 25 percent tariff on Indian goods starting August 1, followed by another 25 percent increase a few days later.
The Trump administration imposed mutual customs duties on many countries with which it faced trade deficits.
Several rounds of talks were held to finalize the BTA with the USA.
What is the India-US Bilateral Trade Agreement?
Officially proposed in February under the directives of leaders of both countries, the BTA aims to more than double bilateral trade to US$500 billion by 2030 from the current US$191 billion. The talks were first announced during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Washington earlier this year.
(with ANI entries)
