How are India–US trade talks shaping up? Top officials head to Washington again

A team of senior Indian officials will travel to the United States this week for a fresh round of trade talks, a top Indian official said Monday.

The visit comes as both sides seek to revive a proposed Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) aimed at doubling the bilateral trade to USD 500 billion by 2030.

“The Indian team will visit this week. Negotiations are going in a positive direction. Both sides are of the view that talks should be fast-tracked,” PTI quoted the official as saying.

Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal is expected to lead the three-member Indian delegation in Washington from October 15 to 17.

The meetings will mark the sixth round of talks since leaders from both nations directed officials in February to begin negotiating a Bilateral Trade Agreement, or BTA. The first tranche of the pact was expected to be concluded by October-November.

Last month, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal visited New York for trade talks, where he met US Trade Representative Ambassador Jamieson Greer and US Ambassador-designate to India Sergio Gor.

The ministry said both sides discussed possible contours of the deal and agreed to push for an “early conclusion of a mutually beneficial” agreement.

The proposed BTA aims to more than double bilateral trade to $500 billion by 2030 from the current $191 billion. The United States was India’s largest trading partner for the fourth consecutive year in 2024–25, with trade valued at $131.84 billion.

Washington has been pressing New Delhi for greater market access for agricultural and industrial products, while India has sought tariff concessions for exports such as textiles, gems and jewellery, and seafood.

The draft text of the agreement was largely finalised earlier this year, but stalled after the US demanded additional concessions.

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, speaking recently at the Kautilya Economic Enclave in New Delhi, said any deal must respect India’s “red lines.”

“There are things you can negotiate and there are things you can’t,” Jaishankar said, adding that “India’s core interests must not be compromised.”

“We have today issues with the United States. A big part of it is the fact that we have not arrived at a landing ground for our trade discussions, and the inability so far to reach there has led to a certain tariff being levied on India,” Jaishankar said.

He was referring to US President Donald Trump’s decision in August to double tariffs on Indian goods to as high as 50%, including an additional 25% duty on imports linked to India’s purchase of Russian crude oil. India had described the move as “unfair, unjustified and unreasonable.”

“We have to find that landing ground,” Jaishankar said. “Whatever happens at the end of the day, there has got to be a trade understanding with the US... but it has to be an understanding where our bottom lines, our red lines are respected.”