India and the United States are on the verge of finalizing their first bilateral trade agreement (BTA), as per Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal. Most discussions have been completed, with only a few outstanding issues left to address. The two countries are expected to continue talks on the second phase of the agreement following the signing of the initial pact.
Goyal mentioned that discussions between the nations are scheduled from June 2 to June 4, after which the announcement of the first phase of the agreement is anticipated. Around 99% of the negotiations have been wrapped up, with a focus on finalizing the legal text and remaining details of the proposed interim pact, whose broad framework was previously agreed upon.
The US delegation, led by chief negotiator Brendan Lynch, and India’s team, headed by Darpan Jain, additional secretary in the Department of Commerce, will be engaged in these talks. The negotiations aim to advance the first phase of the broader Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA), covering aspects such as market access, non-tariff barriers, customs and trade facilitation, investment promotion, and economic security cooperation.
