New Delhi, June 5 - India and the United States are moving quickly toward finalising the first phase of a bilateral trade pact that India’s trade minister said could be concluded by mid-July.
Trade Minister Piyush Goyal told reporters that the two sides had reached an initial understanding on a trade deal in February, but that negotiations had slowed following a court decision in the United States that struck down President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariff measures. He said talks regained momentum during meetings in New Delhi this week.
Goyal described a strong presence from the U.S. side in the recent sessions. "We had a full team of officials from different divisions of trade from the U.S. in Delhi," he said, adding that both parties were "fast moving towards closing all the open ends" of the proposed agreement.
The first tranche is envisioned to provide India with preferential trade access compared with other countries, according to Goyal. He projected a timeline for implementation, saying: "By sometime in the middle of next month or so, we should be in a position to execute a very vibrant first tranche."
Goyal also indicated that a higher-level U.S. delegation was likely to visit India later this month to continue the negotiations.
Separate from the bilateral talks, the United States on Wednesday proposed an additional tariff of 12.5% on imports from India, stating that India was among 60 economies it identified as having failed to curb imports produced with forced labour. That proposal represents a distinct trade action that sits alongside the ongoing negotiations on the bilateral agreement.
Officials on both sides are therefore advancing the negotiation process while a U.S. tariff proposal related to forced-labour findings remains an outstanding factor. The timetable and next steps include further high-level meetings expected later in the month as officials work to finalise outstanding issues ahead of the mid-July target.
Summary of points
The talks began with an initial understanding in February, experienced a pause after a U.S. court decision on tariff measures, and have accelerated with ministerial-level engagement in New Delhi. The first tranche is intended to offer India preferential access, and further U.S. delegations are expected to visit India to close open items.