Daijiworld Media Network - New Delhi
New Delhi, Oct 16: Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Thursday, October 15, said the first tranche of the India-US Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) had been finalised and was undergoing legal drafting and final review.
Speaking at the inauguration of Shri Ram College of Commerce’s Centenary Conclave, Goyal expressed hope that the agreement would be completed and implemented soon, provided India secured a competitive advantage over its peer countries in the US market.
He said his position on the trade agreement remained consistent, adding that he had conveyed the same message a day earlier, a week earlier and three months ago.
Goyal also said the India-European Union free trade agreement was expected to be signed in December and could come into force in February or March next year.
Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal said negotiations on the India-US trade pact were progressing in the right direction and expressed confidence that the agreement could be concluded and signed at the earliest possible time.
He explained that the signing would depend partly on the formalisation of the overall tariff structure in the United States. Parallel work was underway in the US to establish the tariff framework, and the two countries would proceed towards signing the agreement at a mutually agreed time.
Agrawal said the pact would provide market access as well as preferential access for Indian goods compared with competing countries. Securing favourable terms under the new US tariff framework remained a key consideration for India.
He added that other outstanding issues, including concerns linked to the US Trade Representative’s Section 301 investigations into excess capacity, would be addressed as part of the agreement.
The framework for the first tranche of the India-US trade deal was announced in February. However, changes in the US tariff landscape have led to further negotiations, with India seeking more favourable tariff rates than those offered to its competitors.
On October 5, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said negotiations were continuing but appeared to have reached a plateau, leaving limited scope for further concessions.
India’s exports to the US rose marginally by 0.92 per cent to USD 87.3 billion in the 2025-26 fiscal year, despite high tariffs. Imports from the US increased by 15.95 per cent to USD 52.9 billion. Consequently, India’s trade surplus with the US narrowed to USD 34.4 billion in 2025-26, compared with USD 40.89 billion in the previous fiscal year.