Top Indian Officials Head to Washington in Final Trade Thrust

With the deadline for finalizing the first tranche of the India-US Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) now moved to 31 July, the commerce ministry is preparing to dispatch a delegation of senior officials to Washington DC in a bid to close the remaining gaps with their American counterparts, two government officials said.

- Dhirendra Kumar

According to the first official, the Indian team—comprising over a dozen officials from various departments—is expected to leave either on Saturday or early next week. The official dates are yet to be announced.

The visit is expected to mark the final full-fledged round of negotiations, setting the stage for a potential announcement of the deal ahead of the revised deadline. The team will be led by India's chief negotiator and commerce secretary-designate Rajesh Agarwal, deputy chief negotiator and joint secretary, ministry of commerce, Darpan Jain, and B.M. Mishra, director and OSD to commerce minister Piyush Goyal.