During a four-day dialogue, both sides engaged in a productive exchange of views on deepening bilateral cooperation in priority areas, such as increasing market access, reducing tariff and non-tariff barriers, and further integrating supply chains in a mutually beneficial manner, stated India’s Ministry of Commerce and Industry in a communication.
Additionally, New Delhi announced that India and the United States reached a broad understanding on the next steps for a mutually beneficial multilateral free trade agreement, a goal long sought by both nations.
India plans to complete the first phase of this agreement by the fall of 2025.
“Sectoral expert meetings as part of the free trade agreement will commence virtually in the upcoming weeks, paving the way for an initial round of face-to-face negotiations,” the Indian government added. India’s Minister of Commerce, Piyush Goyal, has been representing the country in these commercial discussions.
The talks between India and the U.S. trade delegation, led by Washington’s Deputy Trade Representative for South and Central Asia, Brendan Lynch, come just days before American President Donald Trump’s deadline for the implementation of reciprocal tariffs that could impact various sectors in countries like India.
Trump has indicated that he would provide further details on this tariff increase by April 2.
The Republican president, who shares political closeness with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has previously labeled India as a “high tariff country” in trade matters and urged New Delhi to purchase more American products.
Industries, including agriculture, meat, automobiles—which will have their specific round of tariffs announced on April 3—chemicals, agricultural products, and pharmaceuticals, are among the sectors that may be affected by the U.S. government’s tariff measures.
Washington is New Delhi’s largest trade partner, with bilateral trade between the two nations reaching 8 billion (€109 billion) in the last fiscal year (April 2023 – March 2024), according to Indian government data, noting a surplus in favor of India exceeding billion (€32 billion).
