India and the United States are set to begin three-day discussions on the first phase of their proposed bilateral trade agreement from December 10, sources confirmed. The meeting holds significance as both nations are attempting to finalise the initial tranche of the deal.
According to one of the sources, "The three-day talks will start on December 10. It will conclude on December 12, and it is not a formal round of talks."
The US delegation will be headed by Deputy United States Trade Representative (USTR) Rick Switzer.
This marks the second visit by US officials since Washington imposed a 25 per cent tariff along with an additional 25 per cent penalty on Indian goods entering the American market, a move linked to India’s procurement of Russian crude oil.
The last US delegation visited India on September 16. Days later, on September 22, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal led an official team to the United States for trade discussions, following his earlier visit to Washington in May.
On the negotiation front, the US side is represented by Assistant US Trade Representative for South and Central Asia Brendan Lynch, while India’s team is led by Darpan Jain, Joint Secretary in the Department of Commerce.
The upcoming talks gain further weight after Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal recently expressed optimism that India could finalise a framework trade agreement with the US within this year. He said the deal should help resolve tariff issues in a way that benefits Indian exporters. While acknowledging that a full-fledged Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) will take longer, Agrawal noted that India is engaged in “protracted negotiations” on a framework that addresses the reciprocal tariff challenges faced by Indian businesses.
Currently, India and the United States are pursuing two separate negotiation tracks — one focusing on tariff-related issues under the framework agreement, and another working toward a comprehensive trade pact.
Both countries’ leaders had instructed officials in February to move forward with a trade agreement, with the first tranche initially targeted for completion by the fall of 2025. Six negotiation rounds have been completed so far. The proposed agreement seeks to more than double bilateral trade — from USD 191 billion at present to USD 500 billion by 2030.
The US remained India’s largest trading partner for the fourth straight year in 2024–25, with bilateral trade amounting to USD 131.84 billion, including USD 86.5 billion in exports.
Washington accounts for roughly 18 per cent of India’s total goods exports, 6.22 per cent of its imports, and 10.73 per cent of its overall merchandise trade.
Exporters stress that the agreement is crucial, pointing to India’s merchandise exports to the US falling for the second consecutive month in October — an 8.58 per cent decline to USD 6.3 billion — primarily due to the steep tariffs imposed by the United States.