India Steps Up Pace on US Bilateral Deal Offer

New Delhi working on ways to reduce average applied tariff

- SHREYA NANDI

India is accelerating efforts to finalize its offer to seal a bilateral trade agreement (BTA) with the United States (US), balancing its sensitivities while addressing Washington's key demands, sources familiar with the matter said. This follows a series of developments in the past couple of days including US President Donald Trump's claim that India had agreed to tariff cuts and US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick's statement that negotiating a trade deal at a product level could take years.

India's latest stand to firm up an offer quickly to strike a bilateral trade pact comes soon after Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal's Washington visit.

Following talks with senior US officials in Washington, Goyal is set to meet with exporters and industry leaders later this week, signaling the urgency and importance of the trade negotiations. The government has also called on industry representatives to provide input on proposed tariff reductions.