India-US Trade Agreement: Commerce Ministry Engages with Departments
India's commerce ministry is engaging with various departments to prepare for negotiations on a bilateral trade agreement with the US, aiming to boost bilateral trade and investments.
Photograph: Jonathan Ernst/Reuters
New Delhi, Feb 20 (PTI) With India and the US preparing to start negotiations for a bilateral trade agreement (BTA), the commerce ministry will soon start engaging with different departments on the India-US trade aspects and related developments, sources said.
They said the agreement is an opportunity to boost bilateral trade and investments between the two countries.
"We will meet different ministries, we are sensitising them. We have to understand their issues because if we have to do a bilateral trade agreement, all ministries will need to be on the same page. We will talk about reciprocal tariffs and India-US trade aspects," the source said.
They added that the commerce ministry will cover 3-4 ministries in the coming weeks.
The ministry takes views of all ministries concerned on proposed trade agreements.
The talks between the two countries on trade-related matters will start once the trade team takes charge in the US.
During the recent visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Washington, India and the US announced their commitment to more than double the two-way commerce to USD 500 billion by 2030 and negotiate the first tranche of a mutually beneficial, multi-sector bilateral trade agreement (BTA) by fall of 2025.
Asked about the nature of the proposed pact, one of the sources said it will be decided after bilateral meetings.
The idea to reach out to all departments is to inform them about the US circulars, "what will be there in BTA? What is the meaning of reciprocal tariffs? Any agreement we do, we involve all the ministries also," they added.
Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal recently stated that the two countries can offer concessions and duty reductions, as their economies complement each other.
Normally in a free trade agreement, two trading partners either eliminate or significantly reduce customs duties on the maximum number of goods traded between them. Besides, they ease norms to promote trade in services and boost investments.
During the first term of US President Donald Trump, the two countries had discussed a mini-trade deal, but it was shelved by the Joe Biden administration as they were not in favour of such pacts.
In 2023, the US-India bilateral trade in goods and services stood at USD 190.08 billion (USD 123.89 billion in goods and USD 66.19 billion in services trade). That year, India's merchandise exports to the US stood at USD 83.77 billion, while imports were USD 40.12 billion, leaving a trade gap of USD 43.65 billion in favour of India.
The country's services export to America was USD 36.33 billion in 2023, while imports were aggregated at USD 29.86 billion. The trade gap (difference between imports and exports) was USD 6.47 billion in favour of New Delhi.
During 2021-24, America was the largest trading partner of India. The US is one of the few countries with which India has a trade surplus.
In 2023-24, the US was the largest trading partner of India with USD 119.71 billion bilateral trade in goods (USD 77.51 billion worth of exports, USD 42.19 billion of imports, with USD 35.31 billion trade surplus).
India has received USD 67.8 billion in foreign direct investments from America during April 2000 and September 2024.
They said the agreement is an opportunity to boost bilateral trade and investments between the two countries.
"We will meet different ministries, we are sensitising them. We have to understand their issues because if we have to do a bilateral trade agreement, all ministries will need to be on the same page. We will talk about reciprocal tariffs and India-US trade aspects," the source said.
They added that the commerce ministry will cover 3-4 ministries in the coming weeks.
The ministry takes views of all ministries concerned on proposed trade agreements.
The talks between the two countries on trade-related matters will start once the trade team takes charge in the US.
During the recent visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Washington, India and the US announced their commitment to more than double the two-way commerce to USD 500 billion by 2030 and negotiate the first tranche of a mutually beneficial, multi-sector bilateral trade agreement (BTA) by fall of 2025.
Asked about the nature of the proposed pact, one of the sources said it will be decided after bilateral meetings.
The idea to reach out to all departments is to inform them about the US circulars, "what will be there in BTA? What is the meaning of reciprocal tariffs? Any agreement we do, we involve all the ministries also," they added.
Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal recently stated that the two countries can offer concessions and duty reductions, as their economies complement each other.
Normally in a free trade agreement, two trading partners either eliminate or significantly reduce customs duties on the maximum number of goods traded between them. Besides, they ease norms to promote trade in services and boost investments.
During the first term of US President Donald Trump, the two countries had discussed a mini-trade deal, but it was shelved by the Joe Biden administration as they were not in favour of such pacts.
In 2023, the US-India bilateral trade in goods and services stood at USD 190.08 billion (USD 123.89 billion in goods and USD 66.19 billion in services trade). That year, India's merchandise exports to the US stood at USD 83.77 billion, while imports were USD 40.12 billion, leaving a trade gap of USD 43.65 billion in favour of India.
The country's services export to America was USD 36.33 billion in 2023, while imports were aggregated at USD 29.86 billion. The trade gap (difference between imports and exports) was USD 6.47 billion in favour of New Delhi.
During 2021-24, America was the largest trading partner of India. The US is one of the few countries with which India has a trade surplus.
In 2023-24, the US was the largest trading partner of India with USD 119.71 billion bilateral trade in goods (USD 77.51 billion worth of exports, USD 42.19 billion of imports, with USD 35.31 billion trade surplus).
India has received USD 67.8 billion in foreign direct investments from America during April 2000 and September 2024.
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