Indian and American officials will begin a three-day meeting in the US from February 23 to finalise the legal text of the proposed interim trade agreement, with the pact likely to be signed in March and operationalised in April.

Earlier this month, the two sides issued a joint statement announcing that a framework for the interim trade agreement had been finalised. The contours outlined in the framework are now being translated into a formal legal document to be signed by both countries.

The Indian delegation will be led by chief negotiator Darpan Jain, a joint secretary in the Commerce Ministry.

Under the interim pact, both sides will extend duty concessions on a range of traded goods. The US has announced that it will reduce the reciprocal tariffs on Indian goods from 25 per cent to 18 per cent. It has already eliminated the 25 per cent punitive tariffs on India for buying Russian crude oil.

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Friday that the interim trade agreement is likely to be signed in March and operationalised in April.

He also said that India’s free trade agreements with the UK and Oman are likely to be implemented in April, while the pact with New Zealand is expected to be implemented in September.

Separately, US Ambassador Sergio Gor said that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will visit India in the next few months and indicated that the India-US trade deal is set to be inked soon.

Gor, speaking on the sidelines of the AI Impact Summit here, also described the Quad coalition as an important grouping for cooperation among its member states and said India and the US are taking their bilateral ties to the next level.