Roving Periscope: India-US interim trade deal in “final stages,” says Misri
Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: A day after bilateral meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Donald Trump in France on Thursday, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said the interim bilateral trade agreement (BTA) is in its “final stages,” the media reported on Friday.
Addressing a briefing following PM Modi’s visit to the G7 summit in Evian, France, he noted the progress being made on the conclusion of the agreement and emphasised the upcoming visit of US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer to further the deliberations.
“With the United States, we have made significant progress already on the conclusion of an interim free trade bilateral trade agreement. We are in the final stages of concluding that agreement. Next week, in fact, the United States Trade Representative Mr Jamieson Greer will be visiting India to take forward these discussions.
“In the bilateral meeting between the Prime Minister and President Donald Trump yesterday in Evian, this was a major subject of discussion. Both leaders once again gave instructions for this agreement to be concluded at the earliest possible,” Misri said.
The trade deal was a part of the discussion held on Wednesday between PM Modi and President Trump on the sidelines of the G7 summit. Trump said the two sides were “very close” to finalising the trade deal. ”We had, in particular, some very good conversations with Prime Minister Modi, India. And we’re doing trade deals, we’re doing a lot of things, a lot of things are happening between the United States and India,” Trump said.
The US President also praised PM Modi’s role in encouraging investment in the United States, saying, “the Prime Minister is building a lot in the United States. He’s spending a lot of money in the United States. So, we appreciate that job.”
Greer’s India visit
Earlier this week, India’s Union Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal had informed that Greer’s visit aims at finalising the framework of the interim BTA.
“The USTR is coming on the evening of June 22nd. On 23-24 June, he will be engaging with our Minister for Commerce and Industry (Piyush Goyal). We expect that discussions will be centred around giving final touches to the framework deal and also on the larger BTA that has been under discussion between the two sides,” he said.
Greer’s visit to comes as India remains engaged with the United States on the proposed tariff measures under the Section 301 proceedings and is simultaneously working towards finalising a BTA framework agreement with Washington.
Broader concerns
Agrawal said the proposed trade agreement between the two countries would address broader trade concerns.
“As far as the trade deal is concerned, I think the trade deal covers the entire gamut of trade relationship between India and the US. So, definitely whenever we finalise and sign the deal, I think they try to have clear answers on the 301 investigations,” he said.
India-US partnership
Beyond trade, the two leaders reviewed the substantial progress achieved under the India-US COMPACT (Catalysing Opportunities for Military Partnership, Accelerated Commerce and Technology) since their meeting in Washington, D.C. in February 2025. They welcomed key developments across the defence, strategic technologies, energy, and bilateral trade sectors.
The statement highlighted how PM Modi and President Trump reaffirmed their commitment to further strengthening the India-US Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership and advancing cooperation across all domains for the mutual benefit of the two countries and their peoples
