Indian team in US this week to finalize contours of BTA

New Delhi may buy more natural gas from the US as part of the ongoing trade talks, says official

- Dhirendra Kumar [e-mail]

The US has set a strong condition for India to halt its oil purchases from Russia, alleging the move supports Moscow's war against Ukraine.

(AFP)

With the 2025 fall deadline for the India-US bilateral trade agreement (BTA) approaching, the two sides have intensified activity to bridge differences on a bunch of issues.

Commerce secretary Rajesh Agarwal is likely to lead a high-level delegation to Washington this week, just ahead of Diwali, to work through the gaps in the proposed pact, a senior government official said.

New Delhi’s purchase of oil from Russia has been a key sticking point for the U.S. The official was, however, noncommittal on whether the Russian oil issue would be taken up at the upcoming meeting. The issue is not being handled by the commerce ministry, the official said. In the visit to Washington DC, Agarwal, who took charge on 1 October after serving as India’s chief trade negotiator, will be joined by Darpan Jain, joint secretary in the commerce ministry and B.M. Mishra, director in the same department, among others.