One of the officials said on Friday that an interim trade agreement between the United States and India may be signed within the 90-day tariff suspension period declared by the Trump administration, if the pact is a "win-win" for both the nations.
The official added that the two countries have already settled the terms of reference (ToR) to start negotiations for the agreement.
"There are so many options to close the low-hanging fruits. We have a lot of options to define and close the shape of the BTA," said the official, stressing that anything is possible in the 90-day window if it's to the benefit of both sides.".
India and the US are in the process of finalizing a trade agreement with both countries hoping to complete the first phase by this autumn (September-October). Bilateral trade needs to be boosted to USD 500 billion from approximately USD 191 billion by 2030.
The work has already begun. India is leading other nations in negotiating this deal," the government official said, further adding that India is in continuous interaction with the US.
Most of the negotiations will be done via video conferencing, although some in-person visits might be possible. On April 2, the US imposed a 26% additional tariff on Indian imports into the US. But on April 9, the Trump administration made an announcement suspending the tariffs against India for 90 days, effective up to July 9. The 10% base tariff against nations still holds.
The official also mentioned that US Vice President J.D. Vance may travel to India soon.
Earlier, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said that India is constantly negotiating with the US over the proposed agreement and reassured that the government will safeguard national and public interests and stressed that one should not be in a hurry to take a decision.
He said, "I have said it umpteen times before, we do not negotiate under duress. Time limits are good because they prompt fast talks, but until such time as we can protect the interests of the nation and its citizens, hastening is never wise."
Referring to a potential deadline to wrap up the India-US pact, Goyal said that nations always have deadlines for tasks.
But for the free trade agreements, these timetables are only indicative. We hope to achieve them. But ultimately, it has to be a win-win for both sides, and we need a fair, balanced, and equitable solution. You cannot sacrifice national interests just to meet a timeline," he said.
During 2021-22 to 2023-24, the US was India's biggest trading partner. The US represented approximately 18% of India's goods exports, 6.22% of import, and 10.73% of the bilateral trade.
During 2023-24, India exported USD 35.32 billion worth of goods to the US, higher compared to USD 27.7 billion in 2022-23, USD 32.85 billion in 2021-22, USD 22.73 billion in 2020-21, and USD 17.26 billion in 2019-20.
India's key exports to the US in 2024 were drug formulations and biologicals (USD 8.1 billion), telecom instruments (USD 6.5 billion), precious and semi-precious stones (USD 5.3 billion), petroleum products (USD 4.1 billion), gold and other precious metal jewelry (USD 3.2 billion), ready-made cotton apparel and accessories (USD 2.8 billion), and iron and steel products (USD 2.7 billion).
Major imports from the US comprised crude oil (USD 4.5 billion), petroleum products (USD 3.6 billion), coal and coke (USD 3.4 billion), cut and polished diamonds (USD 2.6 billion), electric machinery (USD 1.4 billion), aircraft, spacecraft, and parts (USD 1.3 billion), and gold (USD 1.3 billion).
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