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What is the story about?
India and the United States remain positively engaged in trade discussions, but progress toward a larger bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) will take time, India’s Commerce Secretary, Rajesh Agarwal, said at the CNBC-TV18 Budget 2026 Verdict event.
Speaking on the first 'Budget 2026: Accelerating India’s Export Story', the Commerce Secretary reiterated that two existing frameworks between the world’s two largest economies are still in place, underscoring New Delhi’s willingness to continue talks.
However, he stopped short of providing a timeline for a broader FTA, saying, “How fast it will happen, hope to get it sooner than later, can’t put a date.”
On reciprocal tariffs, the Commerce Secretary said the issue is “largely in the goods space”, adding that India is seeking to move towards “more balanced trade between both sides.”
The objective, he said, is to ensure that “both sides are better off” as negotiations progress. Referring to recent official commentary, Agarwal noted that the minister had said “most of the sticky issues are more or less resolved,” but declined to comment on recent remarks made by the US President.
The comments come at a moment of heightened global trade realignment. While the India-US relationship is defined by deep economic linkages, a comprehensive FTA has long been elusive — in part due to the sheer size of the US economy and the complexity of negotiating tariff liberalisation, services commitments and regulatory issues across sectors.
Meanwhile, India has been pursuing trade pacts with a range of partners as part of a broader strategy to diversify its export markets and reduce over-dependence on any single economy.
Most recently, New Delhi and the European Union (EU) concluded a landmark Free Trade Agreement in January 2026 after nearly two decades of negotiations, creating a trading framework covering nearly 99% of India’s exports by value and a combined market of roughly 2 billion people and about 25% of global GDP.
Dubbed as the “mother of all deals”, the India-EU FTA aims to slash tariffs on a wide array of goods and services, including textiles, engineering products, and pharmaceuticals, while preserving policy space for sensitive sectors.
With the deal, the EU becomes India’s 22nd FTA partner. Analysts say the FTA demonstrates India’s capacity to secure large-scale market access and strategic economic ties even in a fragmented global trade environment.
India has also taken other trade integration steps in recent years. It has a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) with South Korea that entered into force in 2010, and a trade deal with the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), comprising Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland, that took effect in October 2025 with tariff reductions and commitments on trade liberalisation.
In addition, India and the United Kingdom concluded a Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement in July 2025, further expanding New Delhi’s network of preferential trade arrangements.
Despite these strides, a full-blown FTA with the United States remains a distant goal. Negotiations have been intermittent, and differences over market access, tariffs, agricultural products and digital trade have slowed progress.
India’s extensive trade engagement aligns with a broader policy push to integrate into global value chains, expand market access for Indian exporters, and support sectors ranging from textiles to services and technology.
Speaking on the first 'Budget 2026: Accelerating India’s Export Story', the Commerce Secretary reiterated that two existing frameworks between the world’s two largest economies are still in place, underscoring New Delhi’s willingness to continue talks.
However, he stopped short of providing a timeline for a broader FTA, saying, “How fast it will happen, hope to get it sooner than later, can’t put a date.”
On reciprocal tariffs, the Commerce Secretary said the issue is “largely in the goods space”, adding that India is seeking to move towards “more balanced trade between both sides.”
The objective, he said, is to ensure that “both sides are better off” as negotiations progress. Referring to recent official commentary, Agarwal noted that the minister had said “most of the sticky issues are more or less resolved,” but declined to comment on recent remarks made by the US President.
The comments come at a moment of heightened global trade realignment. While the India-US relationship is defined by deep economic linkages, a comprehensive FTA has long been elusive — in part due to the sheer size of the US economy and the complexity of negotiating tariff liberalisation, services commitments and regulatory issues across sectors.
Meanwhile, India has been pursuing trade pacts with a range of partners as part of a broader strategy to diversify its export markets and reduce over-dependence on any single economy.
Most recently, New Delhi and the European Union (EU) concluded a landmark Free Trade Agreement in January 2026 after nearly two decades of negotiations, creating a trading framework covering nearly 99% of India’s exports by value and a combined market of roughly 2 billion people and about 25% of global GDP.
Dubbed as the “mother of all deals”, the India-EU FTA aims to slash tariffs on a wide array of goods and services, including textiles, engineering products, and pharmaceuticals, while preserving policy space for sensitive sectors.
With the deal, the EU becomes India’s 22nd FTA partner. Analysts say the FTA demonstrates India’s capacity to secure large-scale market access and strategic economic ties even in a fragmented global trade environment.
India has also taken other trade integration steps in recent years. It has a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) with South Korea that entered into force in 2010, and a trade deal with the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), comprising Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland, that took effect in October 2025 with tariff reductions and commitments on trade liberalisation.
In addition, India and the United Kingdom concluded a Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement in July 2025, further expanding New Delhi’s network of preferential trade arrangements.
Despite these strides, a full-blown FTA with the United States remains a distant goal. Negotiations have been intermittent, and differences over market access, tariffs, agricultural products and digital trade have slowed progress.
India’s extensive trade engagement aligns with a broader policy push to integrate into global value chains, expand market access for Indian exporters, and support sectors ranging from textiles to services and technology.
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