India-US trade talks conclude, sector expert-level round to start soon

The next level of the proposed bilateral trade agreement will be held virtually, eventually looking to finalising the broad contours of trade deal; meanwhile, the threat of reciprocal tariffs kicking

The department of commerce on Saturday said that India and the United States (US) have "broadly" come to an understanding on the next steps of the proposed bilateral trade agreement (BTA), even as the threat of the US’s reciprocal tariffs from April 2 looms.

Both countries concluded a four-day round of discussions on the proposed trade deal on Saturday. Over the coming weeks, sectoral expert level engagements under the BTA will begin. These engagements, which will be conducted virtually, are expected to pave the way for an in-person ‘early negotiating round’, an official statement said on Saturday. 

“Sectoral expert-level engagements under the BTA will start virtually in the coming weeks and pave the path for an early negotiating round in person. During these discussions the two sides also had a productive exchange of views on deepening bilateral cooperation in priority areas including increasing market access, reducing tariff and non-tariff barriers and deepening supply chain integration in a mutually beneficial manner,” the statement said. 

Assistant US Trade Representative (USTR) for South and Central Asia Brendan Lynch, along with a team of US government officials had been in India for the talks held between March 25 and 29. In that time, they met with their Indian counterparts as part of the ongoing bilateral trade discussions. Lynch is also the chief negotiator for the BTA. Both sides hope to finalise the first tranche of the agreement by the fall of 2025. 

The discussions aimed to hammer out the details of the first-phase of the proposed bilateral trade agreement (BTA), with the larger goal of finalising the contours of the deal. People aware of the matter said that while both sides made progress, they could not finalise the contours, given the short timeline of four days and sensitivities on both sides. 

For instance, US President Donald Trump has been calling India a high-tariff nation and there has been considerable pressure on India to reduce tariffs on sectors such as agriculture – a key demand for Washington D.C., but a ‘sensitive’ sector for India. As a result, the commerce department will soon begin inter-ministerial discussions on increasing market access, reducing tariff and non-tariff barriers. 

While the idea is to broadly keep liberalisation of goods and digital services as the main focus for the first tranche of the proposed deal, during the discussion with the US team, all bilateral issues were discussed, people aware of the scope of discussions said.

While there is no clarity whether India will be targeted or exempt from the US’ plan to implement reciprocal tariffs starting April 2, on Friday, Trump expressed optimism regarding US-India trade talks. He also called Prime Minister Narendra Modi a "smart man".

“I have a very good relationship with India, but the only problem I have with India is they’re one of the highest-tariffing nations in the world. I believe they’re probably going to lower those tariffs substantially, but on April 2, we will be charging them the same tariffs they charge us,” Trump had said. 

Meanwhile, India's commerce department said the ‘successful conclusion’ of the discussions reflects progress in efforts to expand India-US bilateral trade and investment relations to promote prosperity, security and innovation in both countries. “These steps are designed to unlock new opportunities for businesses, drive bilateral economic integration, and reinforce the economic partnership between India and the United States. India and the United States expressed satisfaction with the outcomes of the meeting and reaffirmed their dedication to ongoing collaboration,” the department's statement said.