Trade agreement: India, US ink terms of reference

New Delhi: India and the US have signed the "terms of reference" for the first part of the proposed bilateral trade agreement, which is likely to be sealed by September-October this year, Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal said on Tuesday.

Speaking at a media briefing, Barthwal said Indian trade officials will visit the US in the second half of May to take the negotiation forward. Before the physical visit, trade negotiators from the two countries will also hold virtual meetings.

The bilateral trade agreement negotiation was kicked off last month when officials from the US Trade Representative office visited New Delhi.

The Commerce Secretary said the deal would help boost India-US bilateral trade to $500 billion by 2030.

"There are both concerns and opportunities for India in terms of the current tariffs, but India has already taken a path where we will be going for trade liberalisation with the US," Barthwal said.

On the timeframe for the proposed deal, the Commerce Secretary said the deal is likely to be signed by the fall of 2025. He indicated that the negotiation could be completed even before September-October. "We will try and close negotiations for the BTA as quickly as possible," he said.

India is the first country to start talks for a bilateral trade agreement with the US after Donald Trump took charge.