India and the United States are inching closer to signing the first tranche of the proposed bilateral trade agreement, with most of the key details already settled, commerce and industry minister
Piyush Goyal said on Monday. His remarks came as a high-level US delegation arrived in New Delhi for a fresh round of negotiations.
Speaking about the ongoing discussions, Goyal said members of the US negotiating team had already begun arriving in India ahead of meetings scheduled for June 2, 3 and 4.
“As far as the US team is concerned, some members have already arrived, while others are arriving tonight. Our meetings are scheduled for 2,3 and 4 June. The leaders of both nations had already announced the framework agreement back on February 3rd.”
Regarding the ongoing negotiations over the India-US trade deal, the minister said, “All the major points have been settled. US Ambassador to India, Sergio Gor, recently stated that 99% of the details have been finalised... I am fully confident that we will conclude the first tranche of the bilateral trade agreement with the US as soon as possible. We will sign it and then proceed to initiate further discussions on how to formulate an even more comprehensive bilateral trade agreement moving forward... “
Goyal also said the agreement would take into account changes in the US tariff structure.
A high-level US delegation led by Chief Negotiator Brendan Lynch is on a four-day visit to India from June 1 to 4 to advance discussions on the proposed India-US Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA). The talks are expected to focus on finalising the details of an interim trade pact while pushing forward negotiations under the broader bilateral framework.
India will be represented by a delegation led by Darpan Jain, additional secretary in the department of commerce and the country’s chief negotiator for bilateral trade talks.
In a statement, the ministry said, “To carry forward the discussions, the US team led by the Chief Negotiator will be visiting India from 1st to 4th June 2026. It is 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, Economic Security Alignment.”
The latest round of face-to-face negotiations follows earlier meetings held in Washington DC between April 20 and 23, 2026, when an Indian delegation led by Jain met US counterparts. The discussions build on a Joint Statement issued by both countries on February 7, 2026, under which India and the United States agreed on a framework for an interim agreement centred on reciprocal and mutually beneficial trade, while reaffirming their commitment to a broader BTA.
Negotiations have now entered what officials described as the final stage, with both sides nearing the conclusion of the interim trade agreement. However, changes in the US tariff landscape may lead the two countries to revisit parts of the agreement’s framework.
US-India trade deal
Under the existing framework, India proposed eliminating or reducing tariffs on all US industrial goods as well as a broad range of American agricultural and food products. These include dried distillers' grains (DDGs), red sorghum for animal feed, tree nuts, fresh and processed fruits, soybean oil, wine and spirits, along with other products.
Speaking at the US-India TRUST Initiative event at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi on Friday, US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor said the agreement was close to completion.
“Just last week, India had sent a team to Washington DC to finalise the last 1 per cent of that trade deal. Next week we will welcome a US delegation here to continue those talks,” he said. “We fully expect that the trade deal will be signed over the next few weeks and months,” Gor added.
Highlighting the growth in economic ties between the two countries, Gor said bilateral trade in goods and services had risen from $20 billion to more than $220 billion over the past two decades.
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