India and the United States will restart discussions on an interim bilateral trade agreement this week, with chief negotiators from both countries meeting in New Delhi for four days starting June 1. The focus of the talks will be on finalizing the specifics and legal text of the proposed interim trade pact, which was broadly agreed upon earlier this year.
The US delegation, led by chief negotiator Brendan Lynch, will meet with India’s team headed by Darpan Jain, Additional Secretary in the Department of Commerce. The negotiations are expected to progress discussions under the broader Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA), covering aspects like market access, non-tariff barriers, customs and trade facilitation, investment promotion, and economic security cooperation.
The negotiations stem from a joint statement issued by both countries on February 7, outlining the framework for the initial phase of the BTA. As part of the proposed deal, the US had agreed to lower tariffs on Indian exports to 18 per cent from 50 per cent and eliminate an additional 25 per cent tariff on specific Indian goods linked to India’s purchases of Russian oil.
Following a shift in the trade environment, particularly after the US Supreme Court’s ruling against President Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariff regime on February 20, negotiations were postponed. Subsequently, discussions resumed in Washington in April, with an Indian delegation, led by Jain, visiting the US from April 20 to 23. The upcoming meeting in New Delhi aims to build on those negotiations and evaluate the impact of the revised tariff structure on the proposed trade agreement.
Officials and trade experts anticipate that the agreement may need adjustments, considering that all US trading partners are now subjected to the same 10 per cent tariff.
