The United States has reportedly signalled that the proposed India-US Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) is within reach.
In an interview with CNBC, White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett said the trade
and tariff agreement with India is “close to the finish line,” expressing optimism despite the complexities surrounding the discussions.
“We are good friends and we are hoping we can work it out soon,” Hassett told the network, while acknowledging that negotiations had become “pretty complicated” because of India’s interactions with Russia and other overlapping issues.
Even so, he maintained that the two sides were moving toward an understanding.
Meanwhile, news agency PTI quoted an Indian government official as saying that the first phase of the proposed India-US BTA is close to being finalised, with the initial package expected to address the steep retaliatory tariffs imposed by the Donald Trump administration on Indian goods.
According to the official, the opening tranche of the agreement is being shaped specifically to resolve the 50 per cent duties levied by Washington, which include a 25 per cent reciprocal tariff and an additional 25 per cent penalty applied to Indian products entering the US market due to India’s purchase of Russian crude oil.
The official emphasised that removing these punitive duties is essential for the pact to have any substantive value.
“We are engaged with the US on the BTA. It has two parts. One part of the negotiations will take time. The other part is a package which can address reciprocal tariffs,” the official said.
“We are working on both aspects,” he said, noting that the tariff-related component is “more or less near closure” and expected to be wrapped up soon.
The agreement is likely to be announced on a mutually decided date.
The official further explained that the overall BTA will be divided into several tranches, with the upcoming package forming the first step in a broader effort to resolve trade frictions that have intensified in recent years.
The Indian official was also quoted as saying that the recent one-year agreement signed by India’s state-run oil companies to import LPG from the US in 2026 does not form part of the BTA negotiations.
He said the deal had been under consideration for a long period and was aimed at maintaining “overall trade balance” with the United States, which has repeatedly flagged India’s sizeable trade surplus as a concern.
India and the US have thus far held six rounds of talks on the BTA. The latest discussions, led by Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal in Washington, ended on October 17.
Both countries aim to seal the first tranche of the pact by the fall of 2025, as they work to repair a relationship strained by the tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump’s administration.
The proposed agreement seeks to significantly expand trade volumes, with a target of pushing bilateral commerce to USD 500 billion by 2030, up from the current USD 191 billion.
As part of the talks, the US has been pressing for greater access to the Indian market for items including almonds, pistachios, apples, ethanol and genetically modified agricultural commodities.
Despite the friction, the US remained India’s largest trading partner in 2024–25, with bilateral trade standing at USD 131.84 billion.
High American duties have contributed to a notable decline in India’s exports, down nearly 12 per cent in September, while imports from the US rose by close to 12 per cent, commerce ministry data shows.
Donald Trump had recently stated that the countries are “pretty close” to reaching what he described as a “fair trade deal,” adding that he intends to lower tariffs on Indian goods “at some point”.
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