US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer is scheduled to visit India on June 23 to 24, an Indian trade official said on Monday.
His discussions with Indian officials will focus on giving final touches to the interim deal between New Delhi and Washington, the official said.
The visit will follow a June 1 to 4 round of talks in New Delhi, when a USTR delegation led by its chief negotiator held discussions with Indian officials on the bilateral trade agreement. The commerce ministry had said after that visit that the two sides discussed trade in goods, non-tariff measures, customs and trade facilitation, economic security alignment and other areas of mutual interest.
India and the US had issued a joint statement in February agreeing on a framework for an interim agreement on reciprocal and mutually beneficial trade. That framework also reaffirmed the two countries’ commitment to negotiations on the broader bilateral trade agreement.
Commerce minister Piyush Goyal had earlier said India and the US were moving towards closing the first tranche of the trade agreement by mid-July. The talks have continued alongside US trade actions involving India, including proceedings linked to tariffs and allegations around forced labour and industrial overcapacity.
India has rejected the US charge of surplus capacity in sectors such as textiles and steel. Additional Trade Secretary Amitabh Kumar said last week that India’s output had to be assessed against its population size, domestic demand and development requirements.
Modi, Trump to meet in France during G-7 summit
US President Donald Trump will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the G-7 meeting in France on Wednesday, local media reported quoting US officials.
This will be the first meeting between the two leaders since February last year in Washington and comes against the backdrop of concerns over the death of Indian mariners on commercial ships targeted by the US navy in the Strait of Hormuz.
The meeting between Trump and Modi will also be the first face-to-face interaction since the India-US relationship hit a rough patch after Operation Sindoor and Washington's decision to impose heavy tariffs on New Delhi.
Trade would be an issue discussed during President Trump's meeting with PM Modi during next week's gathering in France, but no agreement on a trade deal was expected at the summit, the official said.
"We know that Prime Minister Modi is quite ambitious about the role he sees for India, the importance of the US-India relationship," the official told reporters. "We think a potential trade deal is part of that."
Trump would insist on reaching "a very good deal," the official said, adding: "We think a very good deal is possible. I don't think we'll close that deal at the G7."
The Group of Seven summit, to be held June 15 to 17 in the French town of Evian-les-Bains, will bring together leaders from the world's major economies, including Trump, alongsidehigh-level delegations from other countries such as India.
