India, the United States locks in Chapter 19 trade agreement terms, to open talks in Washington on April 23
India’s chief negotiator, other secretary of Rajesh Agrawal of the Ministry of Commerce, will lead the team for the first face-to-face negotiations between the two countries. Agrawal was appointed as the next Chamber of Commerce Minister on April 18. He will serve on October 1.
The three-day talks between the official Indian team and its U.S. counterparts in Washington will begin on Wednesday (April 23).
The official said: “Both sides will discuss the level of ambition. TORS will be further developed and discussed. What is the path to negotiation? TORS will include issues such as tariffs, non-advocacy barriers, rules of origin and regulatory affairs.
The three-day deliberation is of great significance, as senior government officials earlier said that if both sides are “win-win”, a temporary trade agreement between India and the United States could be completed in a 90-day tariff suspension.
In international trade speech, the level of ambition refers to the degree to which two countries are willing to take specific trade liberalization measures. The visit also follows the senior official talks held here last month between the two countries. Brendan Lynch, Assistant Trade Representative for South and Central Asia in the United States, held a key trade discussion with Indian officials in India from March 25 to 29.
Both sides are eager to use the 90-day tariff pause announced by U.S. President Donald Trump on April 9 to promote talks.
On April 15, Commerce Minister Sunil Barthwal said that 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.
The United States accounts for about 18% of India’s total cargo exports, imports are 6.22%, and bilateral trade accounts for 10.73%.
In the United States, India’s trade surplus (the difference between imports and exports) in 2024-25 was US$41.18 billion. It was US$35.32 billion in 2023-24, US$27.7 billion in 2022-23, US$32.85 billion in 2021-22 and US$22.73 billion in 2020-21. The U.S. raised concerns about expanding its trade deficit.
To address the gap and boost manufacturing, the Trump administration announced its approval on April 2, including 26% of India. It was later suspended for 90 days until July 9.
In 2024, India’s main exports to the US included drug formulations and biologicals (USD 8.1 billion), telecom instruments (USD 6.5 billion), precise and semi-precious stones (USD 5.3 billion), petroleum products (USD 4.1 billion), gold and other precise metal jewellery (USD 3.2 billion), ready-made garments of cotton, including accessories (USD 2.8 billion), and products of iron and Steel ($2.7 billion).
Imports include crude oil ($4.5 billion), petroleum products ($3.6 billion), coal, coke ($3.4 billion), shear and polished diamonds ($2.6 billion), electric machinery ($1.4 billion), aircraft, aircraft, aircraft, aircraft, parts and parts ($1.3 billion), and US$130 million (USD $130 million).
