Updated 28 November 2025 at 16:29 IST
Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agarwal with any luck acknowledged, India is hopeful of signing the first tranche of the India-US Bilateral Replace Agreement within essentially the most recent calendar year. He indicated that talks have progressed substantially despite contemporary shifts in world alternate prerequisites.
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India is hopeful of signing the first tranche of the India-US Bilateral Replace Agreement within essentially the most recent calendar year, Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agarwal acknowledged on Friday.
Addressing the FICCI Annual Overall Assembly, he indicated that talks have progressed substantially despite contemporary shifts in world alternate prerequisites.
Reflecting on the negotiations executed to this point, the Secretary acknowledged, “I mediate our expectations, we are very optimistic and intensely hopeful that we must search out a resolution within this calendar year.”
The Commerce Secretary cautioned, alternatively, that alternate negotiations are unpredictable, noting that “with any alternate negotiations, the rest time closing dates can not be because despite the indisputable truth that there is one sticking point or one sticking boom which is within the thoughts of even one among the partners, the alternate deal could well no longer meet that closing date.”
India and the US have been at first aiming to full the first tranche of an India-US bilateral alternate settlement by tumble of 2025, nevertheless new traits within the US alternate protection landscape, that consist of tariffs, have altered these plans.
The Secretary outlined, “Now we have learned lot of adjustments within the world alternate landscape. One amongst the key has been within the US landscape, where it came out with reciprocal tariffs, which have been imposed on the total shopping and selling partners…”
Thanks to this, India and the US, the secretary acknowledged, are in actuality engaged in two parallel negotiations: a broader Bilateral Replace Agreement and a more rapid Framework Replace Deal — aimed at addressing high tariffs imposed on India.
The Secretary acknowledged the framework discussions have progressed seriously, stating, “we are discontinuance, we have now tried to iron out many of the factors. Now it’s supreme topic of time when this decision have to be taken, that after the two nations want to search out the sharp touchdown zone to impart it.”
“I think we need to find pathway for complete elimination of reciprocal tariff in our process of doing (full) BTA. So I think that will take a bit of time, and we’ll not hurry up those we are working on various aspects of BTA,” the secretary acknowledged, reiterating hopes for the first tranche of BTA very rapidly.
Summing up the advise of talks, Agarwal acknowledged that he thinks they’re in a zone where one can remark “it’s one thing that we are in a position to function in a of direction rapid whereas.”
The BTA, formally proposed in February following directives from the leadership of every and each nations, seeks to bigger than double bilateral alternate, from essentially the most recent USD 191 billion to USD 500 billion by 2030. Talks have been first launched proper via Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s discuss over with to Washington earlier this year.
In contemporary months, negotiations have endured despite tariff escalations by the US. US President Donald Trump imposed a 25 per cent tariff on Indian goods starting August 1, adopted by one more 25 per cent enlarge days later, citing India’s endured aquire of Russian oil. The US had imposed reciprocal tariffs on plenty of nations where it faces alternate deficits.
Revealed By : Tuhin Patel
Revealed On: 28 November 2025 at 16:29 IST
