India-US trade deal almost ready
The India-US trade pact is more or less finalised, with only a few issues under discussion between the two sides, and it will be signed at an appropriate time, Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agarwal said on Wednesday.
Any trade deal, he said, has to give a certain kind of preferential market access to each other.
“My minister (Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal) on record has multiple times indicated that the deal has more or less been finalised. There are a few things which both sides are discussing, but it will be signed at an appropriate time. There is a requirement that any deal has to give you a certain kind of preferential access on each other’s part.
“From the Indian side, because we are operating on MFN (most favoured nation) tariffs, it is easier to do so. From their (US) side, they are operating on executive tariffs. So, they are building an architecture, which will create those differentials and create a preferential market access. So, at an opportune time, we should be able to sign,” he told reporters here.
The secretary added that the bilateral trade between the two countries is growing.
Goyal has recently stated that the details of the Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) with the US will be announced once Washington offers preferential terms to India compared to its competitors.
In trade parlance, an MFN tariff is the standard import or customs duty a country charges on goods from another country when there is no trade agreement giving lower duties.
The US has imposed an additional 10 percent import duty over and above its MFN tariff on several countries, including India, under a Section 301 probe concerning forced labour. It was imposed from July 24.
During April-July 2026-27, India’s merchandise exports to the US grew 3 percent to USD 34.5 billion, while imports increased 22.42 percent to USD 22.12 billion.
In February, India and the US announced finalisation of the framework for the first phase of the pact, but changes in the tariff landscape in the US have led to further negotiations between the two countries on the pact.
Goyal will visit the US in late September to attend the G20 Trade Ministerial in Milwaukee and hold bilateral talks with USTR Jamieson Greer, with trade pact issues to figure in the discussions.
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