Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on May 20 said that he had fruitful talks with US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick towards concluding the first tranche of India-US Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA). India and US are working to sign the first tranche of BTA to bring down tariffs before the agreed timeline of the fall of 2025, as the the terms of reference for the pact have already been finalised.
“Good discussions with Secretary @Howard Lutnick towards expediting the first tranche of India-US Bilateral Trade Agreement,” Goyal posted on X social media platform. Earlier, Goyal had said that “very good negotiations” with the US were underway.
India presents a compelling case to the United States for a bilateral trade deal, given the outlook on growth and demography. “Looking at the growth, India offers in the next 25-30 years with a large, aspirational, young population who will add to the demand for goods and services, we believe India will be a compelling case to enter into a good agreement with the US,” Goyal had told reporters.
If both the countries come to an agreement on reducing tariffs, it would lead to higher trade for US and India. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Trump have set an ambitious target of $500 billion bilateral trade by 2030 in a joint statement during the Indian PM’s recent visit to Washington, DC.
Trump claimed last week that India offered to remove all tariffs on American goods, but added that he was in no rush to finalise a trade deal despite the apparent breakthrough. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had said last week that the ongoing trade negotiations are complex. “Between India and the US, trade talks have been going on. These are complicated negotiations. Nothing is decided till everything is. Any trade deal has to be mutually beneficial; it has to work for both countries. That would be our expectation from the trade deal. Until that is done, any judgment on it would be premature,” Jaishankar said while speaking to reporters.
