India and the United States have signed the terms of reference for a potential Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) between both the countries, which aim to increase their bilateral trade to $500 billion by 2030. While India’s Commerce Ministry refused to comment on whether reciprocal tariffs will kick in for India after a 90 day pause, it said that the first tranche of the BTA is set to be finalised by September-October 2025, adding that the finalisation may take place before the date too.
With virtual discussions slated to begin this week between India and the US for a BTA, India’s negotiating team is scheduled to travel to the US for discussions in physical mode in second half of May 2025. India is looking for trade liberalisation with the US via the BTA, with the removal of both tariff and non-tariff barriers.
On the US reciprocal tariffs being announced from April 2 before being put on hold, the Commerce Ministry said that any expectation of reciprocal tariffs impacting India’s trade data would need analysis on the extent of impact on merchandise trade, as merchandise exports from India take 40-45 days to reach American shores.
Source link
