US Ambassador Sergio Gor says 99 per cent of the bilateral trade pact is in place, with negotiators working to resolve final technical and legal issues during talks in New Delhi
India is engaged with the US on the Section 301 investigations over concerns related to forced labour and excess industrial capacity, the government said on Wednesday. The country is also "parallelly" engaged with the US for finalisation of an interim trade agreement, a framework for which was announced through a joint statement on February 7. The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) launched two separate Section 301 investigations on March 11 and 12, 2026, covering 60 economies over concerns related to forced labour and excess industrial capacity. The USTR on June 2 issued its findings in the forced labour investigation and proposed additional tariffs on imports from 60 economies. The proposal includes a 10 per cent tariff on imports from Canada, Ecuador, the European Union, Indonesia, Mexico, and Pakistan, and a 12.5 per cent tariff on imports from 54 other economies, including India and China. Pakistan and Indonesia are India's competitors in the trade front.
The proposed 12.5 per cent tariff on India by the US Trade Representative (USTR) under Section 301 investigations goes beyond the scope of the provision, and New Delhi should challenge the ambit of the probe, think tank GTRI said on Wednesday. The 12.5 per cent tariff exceeds the USA's WTO commitment. The US Trade Representative has proposed to impose 12.5 per cent additional duties on 54 countries, including India, for failing to prohibit the import of goods produced with forced labour. The action follows investigations launched against 60 countries over what the USTR described as their failure to impose and effectively enforce bans on imports made with forced labour. "The current investigation exceeds the scope of Section 301, which deals with market-access barriers faced by the US firms in the country being investigated and not what it imports and from where", the Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) said. It added that the investigation is not based on allegations that Indi
The USTR move comes as India and the US work through an interim trade pact, raising compliance questions for exporters in textiles, apparel and other supply chains
The chief negotiators of India and the US on Tuesday began a three-day round of talks here to finalise the details of the proposed interim trade agreement, an official said. The framework for the pact was finalised in February. The US team is led by its chief negotiator Brendan Lynch. India's chief negotiator is Darpan Jain, who is an additional secretary in the Department of Commerce. The talks are underway at Vanijya Bhavan here, the headquarters of the Commerce and Industry Ministry. The two sides are looking to finalise the details of the interim trade agreement and take forward the negotiations for the broader bilateral trade agreement (BTA). On February 7, India and the US issued a joint statement finalising the contours or framework of the first phase of the BTA or an interim trade deal. According to the framework, the US had agreed to reduce tariffs on India to 18 per cent from 50 per cent. It had removed the 25 per cent tariffs on Indian goods for buying Russian oil and
Markets are hopeful of a positive outcome from ongoing trade negotiations between India and the US
Trade agreements with the US and the UK could help cushion some of the headwinds while attracting foreign investment at a time when the rupee is under great pressure
The two nations reached an agreement on a trade pact earlier this year before the US Supreme Court struck down President Donald Trump's sweeping reciprocal tariffs
Goyal said large parts of the agreement had already been finalised and that discussions were currently focused on a few remaining issues
India's policy calendar this week is packed with the RBI's June review, FY26 GDP data, India-US trade talks, GST numbers, PMI readings and fuel export levy changes
Tariff cuts alone cannot boost exports; India needs larger, predictable cargo volumes to reduce freight costs and attract direct shipping services
An official said the two countries are close to finding a solution for several non-tariff barriers
The chief negotiators of the US and India will begin four-day talks here on Monday on finalising the details of the interim trade pact, whose framework was agreed upon in February. The US team will be led by its chief negotiator Brendan Lynch. India's chief negotiator is Darpan Jain, who is an additional secretary in the Department of Commerce. The two sides are "proposed to finalise the details of the interim agreement and take forward the negotiations under the broader BTA on multiple areas such as market access, non-tariff measures, customs and trade facilitation, investment promotion, and economic security alignment," the commerce ministry has said. On February 7, India and the US issued a joint statement finalising the contours or framework of the first phase of the bilateral trade agreement (BTA) or an interim trade agreement. Now, both sides will have to finalise the legal text for that deal. The framework reaffirmed the countries' commitment to the broader India-US BTA ...
US Ambassador Sergio Gor says India-US trade deal is likely to be finalised in the coming months, with USTR officials set to visit New Delhi next week
Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal gave assurances that the India-US interim agreement is close as he provided an "encouraging update" on bilateral trade negotiations during an interaction with eminent business leaders, the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF) said. Goyal also discussed ways to further deepen India-US trade, investment and supply-chain partnerships during the closed-door roundtable interaction on Thursday. The Consulate General of India in New York, in collaboration with USISPF, hosted Goyal for the closed-door roundtable discussion, where he engaged with over 50 prominent business and industry leaders. Goyal said he highlighted India's strong growth story, reform-driven business environment, and expanding opportunities for global investors under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. "Discussed ways to further deepen India-US trade, investment, innovation, and supply-chain partnerships for shared prosperity," he said in a post on X. USI
A US delegation led by chief negotiator Brendan Lynch will visit India from June 1-4 to advance negotiations on the proposed bilateral trade agreement
High tariffs and complex compliance requirements continue to deter free-trade agreement utilisation
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the India-US trade deal could be finalised within weeks and reaffirmed President Donald Trump's support for India
India's policy focus this week will be on forex reserves, banking deposit growth and high-level India-US talks amid global uncertainty and trade concerns
Emphasising the personal chemistry between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump, Rubio noted that their bond spans both terms of the Trump administration