India and the United States are nearing agreement on a major bilateral trade deal structured in two phases, a senior Indian trade official said on Monday.
In the first phase, the focus will be on resolving reciprocal tariffs; the second phase will address broader trade issues such as services, digital trade and non-tariff barriers.
The official told Reuters that the two countries “could soon agree to address reciprocal tariffs as part of the first part of the agreement” and are “likely to address broader trade issues in the second part of the agreement”.
The pact on reciprocal tariffs will be part of a broader bilateral trade agreement, the official said.
"We should get a closure soon,” the official added, per PTI.
On Monday, India also announced a landmark energy agreement with the US. It will import around 10 per cent of its annual liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) needs under a “first-ever” deal with American suppliers.
Earlier this month, NITI Aayog CEO BVR Subrahmanyam had expressed confidence that some positive news on the long-delayed India-US bilateral trade agreement would come by the end of November.
