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India, U.S. may execute first phase of bilateral trade pact by middle of next month
India, U.S. may execute first phase of bilateral trade pact by middle of next month: Goyal
India and the U.S. are moving towards closing all the open ends of the interim trade agreement, and both sides are likely to execute the "very, very vibrant" first phase of the pact by the middle of next month, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Friday (June 5, 2026).
He said that the U.S. team was in New Delhi from June 2-4 for finalisation of the deal. They held discussions with the Indian team.
"I also met with them yesterday, and we are fast moving towards closing all the open ends, and I think sometime by the middle of next month or so, we should be in a position to execute a very, very vibrant first tranche...
"It is only the first tranche of our bilateral trade agreement, which will give preferential access to India over our competitors," he told reporters here.
He added that a high-level team is expected to visit India towards the end of this month.
The team is likely to be led by U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Jamieson Greer.
During this week's talks in the national capital, the two teams held constructive and positive discussions across a wide range of issues, covering trade in goods, non-tariff measures, customs and trade facilitation, economic security alignment and other areas of mutual interest, the Commerce Ministry said.
The U.S. team was led by its chief negotiator Brendan Lynch. India's chief negotiator is Darpan Jain, who is an additional secretary in the Department of Commerce.
After finalising the framework for the first phase of the bilateral trade agreement (BTA), the two countries are looking to finalise the details of the interim trade pact and take forward the negotiations for the broader BTA.
On February 7, India and the U.S. issued a joint statement finalising the contours or framework of the first phase of the BTA or an interim trade deal.
According to that framework, the U.S. had agreed to reduce tariffs on India to 18% from 50%. It had removed the 25% tariffs on Indian goods for buying Russian oil and was to cut the remaining 25% to 18% under the pact.
But, on February 20, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against President Donald Trump's sweeping reciprocal tariffs, which were imposed under the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).
After that, the U.S. President announced the imposition of 10% tariffs on all countries for 150 days, starting February 24. It will end on July 24.
In light of these changes, the two sides met in Washington in April, when the Indian team, headed by Mr. Jain, visited America from April 20-23, 2026.
To carry forward those discussions, the U.S. team was here for the talks.
As the tariff landscape has changed in the U.S., both sides may wish to revisit the agreement's framework.
The February joint statement on the framework has a clause that in the event of any changes to the agreed upon tariffs of either country, the US and India agree that the other country may modify its commitments.
Under the agreed framework, India proposed to eliminate or reduce tariffs on all U.S. industrial goods and a wide range of food and agricultural products, including dried distillers' grains (DDGs), red sorghum for animal feed, tree nuts, fresh and processed fruit, soybean oil, wine and spirits, and additional products.
New Delhi has also expressed its intentions to purchase $500 billion of U.S. energy products, aircraft and aircraft parts, precious metals, technology products, and coking coal over the next five years.
When the framework was agreed, India had a comparative advantage over its competitor countries, such as Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Bangladesh.
Now, with all U.S. trading partners facing a uniform 10% tariff, the pact requires recalibration.
It is important that India gets an advantage over its competitor nations on the tariff front in the trade pact.
As the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled against Mr. Trump's sweeping tariffs, the U.S. administration now has the option of using the Section 301 investigation mechanism to impose new tariffs.
According to sources, the U.S. could use this mechanism as a pressure tactic to bring its trading partners on the table to negotiate trade deals.
In March, the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) launched two unilateral Section 301 investigations against a number of countries, including India, over excess capacity and failures to eradicate forced labour in global supply chains.
On June 2, the USTR proposed imposing 12.5% tariffs on 54 countries, including India, for allegedly failing to prohibit the import of goods produced with forced labour.
The proposed duty follows investigations launched in March against 60 countries under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 over concerns related to forced labour.
The measure remains a proposal and has not yet been finalised, the USTR said, adding that interested parties can submit requests to appear at hearings and summaries of testimony by June 22. The USTR is scheduled to hold hearings on July 7.
The U.S. was the second-largest trading partner of India in 2025-26.
India's outbound shipments to the U.S. grew marginally by 0.92% to $87.3 billion during the last fiscal year, while imports increased 15.95% to $52.9 billion. The trade surplus declined to $34.4 billion in 2025-26 from $40.89 billion in 2024-25.
Published - June 05, 2026 07:27 pm IST
India-United States / USA / trade agreements
Source: TheHindu
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