Senior US trade official Lynch on 5-day visit to India from March 25

Brendan Lynch, the assistant US trade representative for South and Central Asia will pay a five-day visit to India beginning Tuesday to discuss issues relating to trade and tariff between the two countries.

Lynch's visit comes days ahead of coming into force of reciprocal tariffs announced by US President Donald Trump.

The senior US trade official is expected to hold talks with Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal besides meeting a number of senior Indian officials, it is learnt.

The two sides are also expected to hold negotiations to firm a framework for a bilateral trade pact that would address issues relating to levies and market access.

 

"Assistant US Trade Representative for South and Central Asia Brendan Lynch, along with a team of US government officials, will be in India from March 25-29 for meetings with Indian interlocutors as part of ongoing bilateral trade discussions," a US official said.

"This visit reflects the United States' continued commitment to advancing a productive and balanced trade relationship with India.

"We value our ongoing engagement with the Government of India on trade and investment matters and look forward to continuing these discussions in a constructive, equitable, and forward-looking manner," the official said.

India on Friday said its negotiations with Washington are underway to firm a framework for a bilateral trade pact that would address issues relating to levies and market access.

India remains engaged with the US Administration at "various levels" to arrive at a mutually beneficial trade agreement, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said.

The US president's tariff tussle has stoked fears of a global trade war with many countries already announcing counter-measures to deal with it.

Following talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Trump in Washington DC last month, the two sides announced to negotiate the first tranche of the BTA by the fall of 2025.

In line with his "America First" policy, Trump earlier this month announced reciprocal tariffs on its partners and other nations that impose higher levies on imports from the US.

It will come into effect on April 2.