New Delhi: India and the US are nearing the first phase of bilateral trade agreement (BTA) as the chief negotiators of both the nations on Tuesday began a three-day round of talks in New Delhi to finalise the details of the proposed interim trade agreement. Indian officials held firm in their commitment during the US trade talks, while their US counterpart hit its sticking points, according to an official source.
“The ongoing talks will be carried forward tomorrow, and the final contours of the agreement between the two countries will remain under discussion in which several sectors are expected to benefit if the two countries close the deal successfully in improving market access, reducing trade barriers and expanding economic cooperation,” the official said.
As per the schedule, the talks are underway at Vanijya Bhavan here in the national capital between the US team is led by its chief negotiator Brendan Lynch and India’s chief negotiator is Darpan Jain. “We expect that the two sides will clinch the first phase of the deal as per the schedule and take forward the negotiations for the broader bilateral trade agreement,” the official said.
India is most likely to discuss Washington’s Section 301 investigation and potential tariff measures with US trade officials, as the two nations seek to finalise a deal in New Delhi. As the US Supreme Court has ruled against President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs, the US administration now has the option of using the Section 301 investigation mechanism to impose new tariffs. Now, with all US trading partners facing a uniform 10 per cent tariff, the pact requires a recalibration.
The official, however, said that it is very important that India gets an advantage over its competitor nations on the tariff front in the trade pact. “The risk for India is that even if a trade agreement reduces tariffs and expands market access, additional duties imposed later under Section 301 could dilute the benefits of the deal,” the official said.
On February 7, India and the US issued a joint statement finalising the contours or framework of the first phase of the BTA or an interim trade deal. According to the framework, the US had agreed to reduce tariffs on India to 18 per cent from 50 per cent. It had removed the 25 per cent tariffs on Indian goods for buying Russian oil and was to cut the remaining 25 per cent to 18 per cent under the pact.
But, on February 20 this year, the US Supreme Court ruled against President Donald Trump’s sweeping reciprocal tariffs, which were imposed under the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). After that, the US President announced the imposition of 10 per cent tariffs on all countries for 150 days, starting February 24.
As the tariff landscape has changed in the US, both sides may wish to revisit the agreement’s framework. “In light of these changes, the two sides met in Washington in April, when the Indian team, headed by Jain, visited America from April 20-23, 2026. To carry forward those discussions, the US team is here for the talks, the official said.
Under the agreed framework, India proposed to eliminate or reduce tariffs on all US industrial goods and a wide range of food and agricultural products, including dried distillers’ grains (DDGs), red sorghum for animal feed, tree nuts, fresh and processed fruit, soybean oil, wine and spirits, and additional products. Besides, New Delhi also expressed its intentions to purchase $500 billion of US energy products, aircraft and aircraft parts, precious metals, technology products, and coking coal over the next five years. When the framework was agreed, India had a comparative advantage over its competitor countries, such as Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Bangladesh.
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