BTA: India, US to hold three-day trade talks from December 10
Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: India and the United States will commence three-day talks on the first phase of their proposed bilateral trade agreement (BTA) in the Indian capital from December 10, the media reported on Saturday.
“The talks will start on December 10, and conclude on December 12. It’s not a formal round of talks,” the reports quoting officials said.
The US team will be led by Deputy United States Trade Representative (USTR) Rick Switzer
This visit of the US officials marks their second trip since the imposition of a 25 percent tariff and an additional 25 percent penalty on Indian goods entering the American market due to the purchase of Russian crude oil. On September 16, the US officials last visited India.
After visiting Washington in May, Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal also led an official delegation on September 22 to the US for trade talks.
While the USA’s chief negotiator for the proposed pact is Assistant US Trade Representative for South and Central Asia Brendan Lynch, the Indian side is led by Darpan Jain, Joint Secretary in the Department of Commerce.
The bilateral trade talks are important as Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal recently stated that India is hopeful of reaching a framework trade deal with the US by December-end, which should address the tariff issue to the benefit of Indian exporters.
While noting that the BTA will take time, Agrawal said that India is engaged in protracted negotiations with the US on a framework trade deal that will address the reciprocal tariff challenge faced by Indian exporters.
India and the US are having two parallel negotiations — one on a framework trade deal to address tariffs and another on a comprehensive trade deal.
In February, leaders of the two countries directed their officials to negotiate an agreement.
The two countries planned to conclude the first tranche of the pact by the fall of 2025. So far, six rounds of negotiations have been held. The agreement aims to more than double bilateral trade, from the current USD 191 billion to USD 500 billion by 2030.
The US remained India’s largest trading partner for the fourth consecutive year in 2024-25, with bilateral trade valued at USD 131.84 billion (including USD 86.5 billion worth of exports).
The US accounts for about 18 percent of India’s total goods exports, 6.22 percent of its imports, and 10.73 percent of its total merchandise trade.
According to exporters, the agreement is important as India’s merchandise exports to the US declined for the second consecutive month in October, falling by 8.58 percent to USD 6.3 billion due to the hefty tariffs imposed by Washington.
