India-US Trade Talks: Team Returns, Agreement Progress

New Delhi, Sep 25 (PTI) The Indian team has returned from the US after holding trade talks with their American counterparts in New York, an official said on Thursday.

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal, who led the team, will be back on Friday. The team had arrived in New York on Monday to hold talks over the proposed trade agreement between the two countries.

The talks are taking place at various levels, encompassing both trade and non-trade issues.

Goyal was accompanied by senior officials from the ministry, including Special Secretary and India's chief negotiator, Rajesh Agrawal.

"The Indian official team is back from the US," the official said.

Goyal has held discussions with his US counterpart.

This visit comes against the backdrop of recently concluded day-long discussions in New Delhi between US Chief Negotiator Brendan Lynch and Agrawal on the proposed bilateral trade agreement.

On September 16, the commerce ministry stated that the day-long discussions with the visiting US team on a bilateral trade deal were positive, and both sides agreed to push for an early and mutually beneficial conclusion of the agreement.

The visit of high-ranking US trade officials came after the imposition of a 25 per cent tariff and an additional 25 per cent penalty on Indian goods entering the American market for purchasing Russian crude oil.

The visit also assumed significance amid the US administration's sudden decision to hike the application fee for H-1B visas to USD 1,00,000.

Industry body Nasscom on Saturday said the US's move will impact India's technology services companies as business continuity will be disrupted for onshore projects that may require "adjustments".

In February this year, leaders of the two countries directed officials to negotiate a proposed Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA).

It was planned to conclude the first tranche of the pact by the fall (October-November) of 2025. So far, five rounds of negotiations have been held. The pact is aimed at more than doubling the bilateral trade to USD 500 billion by 2030 from the current USD 191 billion.

Goyal had earlier visited Washington in May for the trade talks. During that visit, he held deliberations with US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer.

The US remained India's largest trading partner for the fourth consecutive year in 2024-25, with bilateral trade valued at USD 131.84 billion (USD 86.5 billion exports).

The US accounts for about 18 per cent of India's total goods exports, 6.22 per cent in imports, and 10.73 per cent in the country's total merchandise trade.