New Delhi, June 1: India and the US are set for another round of negotiations on the proposed trade deal.
A high-level US delegation, led by Chief Negotiator Brendan Lynch, is slated to arrive here on a four-day visit from today, with the aim of finalising the details of the Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA).
The American delegation will hold talks with the Indian team led by Darpan Jain, Additional Secretary in the Department of Commerce and India’s chief negotiator.
The discussions will cover multiple areas, including market access, non-tariff measures, customs and trade facilitation, investment promotion, and economic security alignment, according to the Ministry of Commerce.
“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,” the ministry said in a statement.
The current round of talks follows meetings held in Washington, DC, from April 20 to 23, when an Indian delegation led by Jain met US counterparts to advance negotiations.
The discussions are part of a framework agreed upon in a joint India-US statement issued on February 7, 2026.
Both countries had committed to pursuing an interim agreement focused on reciprocal and mutually beneficial trade while continuing work on the comprehensive BTA.
Negotiations are now said to be in their final stages, with both sides moving closer to concluding the interim trade agreement.
Under the proposed framework, India has offered to reduce or eliminate tariffs on US industrial goods and several agricultural products, including dried distillers’ grains, red sorghum, tree nuts, fresh and processed fruits, soybean oil, wine and spirits, among others.
Setting the tone for the fresh round of negotations, US Ambassador Sergio Gor said on Friday last that India had recently sent a team to Washington to finalise the remaining aspects of the agreement.
“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, Gor noted that bilateral trade in goods and services has risen from USD 20 billion to more than USD 220 billion over the past two decades.
He also described India as a key strategic partner for the United States, citing its growing economic and geopolitical importance.
