India in talks to finalise trade deal with US, says chief negotiator

The aim is to conclude the first phase of the pact by fall (September-October) this year, with both countries working to finalise an interim trade agreement before that

Don't want to miss the best from Business Standard?

India is trying to negotiate and finalise a trade agreement with the US, Special Secretary in the Department of Commerce Rajesh Agrawal said on Thursday.

Agrawal is also the chief negotiator of the proposed India-US bilateral trade agreement.

The aim is to conclude the first phase of this pact by fall (September-October) of this year. Before that, the two countries are looking to finalise an interim trade agreement.

Agrawal said that India has so far implemented more than 14 Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with 26 countries.

"Now we are integrating with major markets also... we just concluded an agreement with the UK, we are in an advanced stage of negotiations with the European Union, we are trying to negotiate and finalize a deal with the USA," he said here at an event on export logistics.

India, he said, is also negotiating trade pacts with Latin American countries including Chile and Peru.

"We have done (trade pact) with Australia and UAE. We are in negotiations with New Zealand... So, the idea is that we are also integrating in a big way with the major trading partners and major economies," he added.