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US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced plans to negotiate the first tranche of a Bilateral Trade Agreement by this year by cutting tariffs.
Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal with US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer. (Piyush Goyal/X)
Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal on Friday said that he had a “forward-looking” discussion with US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer on a mutually beneficial bilateral trade agreement.
Goyal had previously met Greer and US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick during his visit to the United States earlier this month to negotiate a mutually beneficial, multi-sector Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) between the two countries.
“Had a forward looking discussion with @USTradeRep Jamieson Greer on a mutually beneficial Bilateral Trade Agreement. Our approach will be guided by ‘India First’, ‘Viksit Bharat’ and our Comprehensive Strategic Partnership,” Goyal said on X.
Had a forward looking discussion with @USTradeRep Jamieson Greer on a mutually beneficial Bilateral Trade Agreement.Our approach will be guided by ‘India First’, ‘Viksit Bharat’ and our Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. pic.twitter.com/0KKyWALEP7
— Piyush Goyal (@PiyushGoyal) March 14, 2025
What Is India-US Bilateral Trade Deal?
US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced plans to negotiate the first tranche of a mutually beneficial, multi-sector Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) by the fall of 2025, during the latter’s visit to the White House in February.
The two leaders resolved to expand trade and investment to make their citizens more prosperous, nations stronger, economies more innovative, and supply chains more resilient. “Through the BTA, our objective is to strengthen and deepen India-US two-way trade in the goods and services sector, increase market access, reduce tariff and non-tariff barriers, and deepen supply chain integration between the two countries,” said the Ministry of External Affairs.
They also resolved to deepen the US-India trade relationship to promote growth that ensures fairness, national security and job creation. To this end, the leaders set a bold new goal for bilateral trade – “Mission 500″ – aiming to more than double total bilateral trade to USD 500 billion by 2030.
Trump’s Tariff Threats
However, since assuming office in January, Trump has repeatedly criticised India’s tariff rates, describing the country as a “tariff king” and a “tariff abuser”. Before PM Modi’s visit to the White House, Trump had announced reciprocal tariffs on its partners, including New Delhi.
Trump recently claimed that India has agreed to cut its tariffs “way down” as he reiterated his claim that the country charges America massive tariffs that make it difficult to sell products there. “They’ve agreed. they want to cut their tariffs way down now because somebody is finally exposing them for what they’ve done,” he said.
However, India’s commerce secretary clarified that India is still negotiating with the United States and has not made any commitments so far, according to sources. Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal told a parliamentary committee that the US has not imposed any tariffs on India despite announcing reciprocal tariffs earlier.
India exported nearly $74 billion worth of goods to the US in 2024, which establishes the US as India’s biggest trading partner. Higher tariffs on Indian products are likely to decrease their competitive edge in the US market which will hit major labour-intensive sectors hard.
India has already said it is looking at deepening trade ties with the US, including by reducing tariff and non-tariff barriers through the bilateral trade deal. US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick in an interaction with India Today TV said the US wants a more balanced trade relationship with India, emphasising the need for fairer trade policies.
(with agency inputs)