India, the United States held US trade talks in Washington on April 23; promotes BTA negotiations

The United States has said that the contracts related to India will help open up new markets for American goods. Representative file image. |Photo source: Reuters

Indian and U.S. officials will begin their review of Washington’s proposed bilateral trade agreement from Wednesday, April 23, 2025, with the aim of resolving the issue and promoting negotiations.

The United States has said that the contracts related to India will help open up new markets of American goods and create new opportunities for workers, farmers and entrepreneurs in both countries.

According to the U.S. Trade Representative, the U.S. is considering increasing market access, reducing tariff and non-tariff barriers, and negotiating a strong set of additional commitments to secure long-term benefits.

The United States has repeatedly worried about the widening trade deficit with India, which is $45.7 billion in 2024. It will consider making up for this deficit with India through BTA.

Both have completed the Terms of Reference (TOR) of the Agreement.

The three-day talks are of great significance as the United States suspends tariffs for 90 days.

TOR covers approximately 19 chapters, such as customs duties, non-tariff barriers and customs promotion.

The talks will lead to formal negotiations on the Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA), an official said.

India’s chief negotiator, other secretary of Rajesh Agrawal of the Ministry of Commerce, is leading the team for the first face-to-face negotiations between the two countries.

On April 15, Commerce Minister Sunil Barthwal said India will try to negotiate with the United States as soon as possible

India and the United States have been negotiating bilateral trade agreements since March. The two sides aim to end the first phase of the agreement this fall (September to October), with the goal of double the bilateral trade to more than $500 billion in 2030, and currently about $191 billion.

In a trade agreement, both countries either greatly reduce or eliminate the maximum number of goods traded between customs. They also simplify norms to promote trade in services and promote investment.

While the United States is looking for certain industrial supplies, automobiles (especially electric vehicles), wine, petrochemicals, dairy and agricultural goods, such as apples, fruit trees and alfalfa hay, India may look at layoffs in labor-intensive sectors such as clothing, textiles, gemstones and jewelry, leather, plastics, chemicals, oilseeds, shrimp and gardening products.

From 2021-22 to 2024-25, the United States is India’s largest trading partner.

In the last fiscal year, India’s exports to the United States rose 11.6% to $86.51 billion, compared with $77.52 billion in 2023-24.

Imports rose 7.44% in 2024-25 to $45.33 billion, compared with $42.2 billion in 2023-24.

In the United States, India’s trade surplus (the difference between imports and exports (the difference between imports and exports) in 2024-25 was US$41.18 billion.

The United States accounts for nearly 19.78% of India’s total exports and 6.29% of its total imports.