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India’s trade negotiations for BTA with US reach at advanced stage: Goyal
Dec-23-2025

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has said that India’s trade negotiations for a bilateral trade agreement (BTA) with the United States (US) are reached at advanced stage. Earlier this month, a US delegation led by Deputy Trade Representative Rick Switzer visited India to take stock of these talks. The two-day talks concluded on December 11, 2025.

The minister said that so far, India has finalised free trade agreements (FTAs) with three members of the Five Eyes (FVEY) alliance - Australia, United Kingdom (UK) and New Zealand. The other two members of the grouping are the US and Canada. He said India is also in the process of resuming talks for a trade agreement with Canada. He noted that ‘we are soon going to launch discussions for the ToR (terms of reference) with Canada also and this reflects the growing strategic importance of India in world geopolitics.’

The India-US trade pact talks are crucial as the two sides are working to finalise the first tranche of the BTA. The talks are also important as the Trump administration has imposed steep tariffs of up to 50% on most Indian goods entering American markets. As part of the pact, the US is seeking duty concessions on agri products like almonds, corn and apples, and industrial goods. India has strongly opposed any concessions on the agri and dairy sectors. India has stated that it will not compromise the interests of farmers and MSMEs. The US remained India's largest trading partner for the fourth year in a row in 2024–25, with bilateral trade reaching $131.84 billion in FY25, including $86.5 billion in exports from India. 


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