Trump tariffs: Indian team to visit Washington again for fresh round of trade talks with US

An Indian delegation will soon travel to Washington for another round of talks with the United States to resolve tariff issues and finalise an interim trade agreement, PTI reported on Thursday, citing government officials.

The official said that negotiations will happen on both the interim and the first phase of the bilateral trade agreement (BTA) during this visit.

While the visit dates have not yet been finalised, the report suggests the team may leave for Washington next week.

Earlier this month, the Indian team, led by chief negotiator Rajesh Agrawal, returned from Washington after concluding talks on the pact.

India is seeking to negotiate a comprehensive bilateral trade deal with the US, with the aim of concluding its first phase by September or October this year, said

Agrawal, Special Secretary in the Department of Commerce, said that India is trying to negotiate a comprehensive bilateral trade deal with the US.

The aim is to conclude the first phase of this pact by fall (September-October) of this year. Before that, the two countries are looking to finalise an interim trade agreement.

Agrawal said that India has so far implemented more than 14 Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with 26 countries.

"Now we are integrating with major markets also... we just concluded an agreement with the UK, we are in an advanced stage of negotiations with the European Union, we are trying to negotiate and finalize a deal with the USA," he said here at an event on export logistics.

The Indian team returned from Washington last week after holding discussions on the interim deal. The two countries were initially aiming to announce an agreement before July 9, the initial deadline for the 90-day suspension period for additional US tariffs imposed in April.

However, the Trump administration extended the suspension until August 1.

A 10% baseline tariff imposed by the US remains in place.

President Donald Trump has been sending out tariff notification letters to smaller trading partners, including the Philippines, Brunei, Moldova, Algeria, Libya, Iraq and Sri Lanka.

India, which is negotiating the trade pact, has not been targeted in these initial lists, providing relief to Indian exporters.

The US has so far issued tariff letters to about 27 countries.

India is seeking a full exemption from the 26% duty, failure of which would see the tariffs come back into force.

The agriculture sector remains a major sticking point in the negotiations as the US seeks duty concessions on dairy products, apples, tree nuts, and genetically modified crops. India has so far not opened up its dairy sector to any trading partner in its FTAs, making it difficult to accommodate US demands.

During 2024-25, bilateral trade in goods between India and the US stood at $131.84 billion, with India exporting $86.51 billion worth of goods and importing $45.33 billion, resulting in a trade surplus of $41.18 billion in India’s favour.