New Delhi [India] March 7 (ANI): India and the US are gearing up to negotiate a landmark Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) that could potentially boost trade between the two nations amid US President Donald Trump’s plans to impose reciprocal tariffs on US trading partners, including India.
In a weekly briefing, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that the agreement aims to strengthen and deepen India-US two-way trade in goods and services, increase market access, and reduce tariff and non-tariff barriers.
“The two governments are in the process of advancing discussions on a multi-sector Bilateral Trade Agreement. 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 Jaiswal.
The announcement comes after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the US in February 2025, where both sides expressed interest in negotiating a mutually beneficial, multi-sector BTA. Commerce and Industries Minister Piyush Goyal also recently met his US counterparts to advance discussions on the agreement.
“During PM’s visit to the US in February 2025, both sides announced plans to negotiate a mutually beneficial, multi-sector Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA). The Commerce and Industries Minister was in the US and met his counterparts,” said Jaiswal.
A key aspect of the BTA is its focus on supply chain integration between India and the US. The agreement could pave the way for increased trade in goods and services by reducing barriers and increasing market access, benefiting both economies.
While India has trade agreements with over 50 countries, including the Asia Pacific Trade Agreement and the South Asia Free Trade Agreement, a BTA with the US could have significant implications for India’s economy.
As negotiations progress, India will likely push for greater market access for its goods and services, while the US may seek increased agricultural exports to India. The outcome of these negotiations will be closely watched, as it could set the tone for India-US trade relations in the years to come.
US President Donald Trump had earlier targeted India’s import duties in a speech to a joint session of Congress. Trump specifically targeted India’s tariffs on automobile imports, saying, “India charges us auto tariffs higher than 100%.”
While addressing a joint session of the US Congress, Trump said that the reciprocal tax will kick in on April 2. He had said that the US has been ripped off for decades by nearly every country on earth and vowed not to “let that happen any longer.”
Trump had said, “Under the Trump administration, you will pay a tariff and in some cases a rather large one. Other countries have used tariffs against us for decades, and now it’s our turn to start using them against those other countries. On average, the European Union, China, Brazil, India, Mexico, Canada, and countless other nations charge us tremendously higher tariffs than we charge them. It’s very unfair. India charges us auto tariffs higher than 100 percent.”
He had also spoken about the tariffs imposed by the European Union, China, Brazil and Mexico and had announced that the US will impose tariffs on other nations based on what they do to the US. (ANI)
