India-US trade talks: US deputy ambassador for trade to visit India; discussions resume this week
The US Deputy Ambassador for Trade, Rick Switzer, will visit India on December 10 and 11 as New Delhi and Washington continue discussions aimed at concluding a fair and mutually beneficial bilateral trade agreement, ANI reported.Confirming the visit at a media briefing on Monday, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said the trip would serve both as a familiarisation visit and an opportunity for meetings with senior Indian government officials.
“The new deputy US trade representative, Ambassador Rick Switzer, will be visiting India on the 10th and 11th of December.
This visit is a familiarisation visit, as well as to meet with senior officials in the government of India,” Jaiswal said.Jaiswal said both governments remain engaged with the objective of concluding a fair, balanced and mutually beneficial multi-sectoral financial trade agreement, adding that several rounds of discussions between the two sides have already taken place.Commerce Secretary Sunil Agarwal had earlier expressed optimism about the negotiations, saying at the FICCI Annual General Meeting on November 28 that both sides were hopeful of finding a solution within the current calendar year.“I think our expectations… we are very optimistic and very hopeful that we should find a solution within this calendar year,” Agarwal had said.While talks have progressed substantially, the original target of completing the first tranche of the agreement by fall 2025 was delayed due to recent shifts in US trade policy, including tariff measures announced by US President Donald Trump.The US had imposed a 25 per cent tariff on Indian goods from August 1, followed by an additional 25 per cent increase, citing India’s continued buy of Russian oil as part of reciprocal tariff actions against countries with which Washington runs trade deficits.The proposed Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) seeks to more than double India-US bilateral trade from the current USD 191 billion to USD 500 billion by 2030.
Talks were first announced during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Washington earlier this year.India has so far signed 14 Free Trade Agreements and six Preferential Trade Agreements, and is currently negotiating FTAs with several partners, including the European Union, as it looks to expand global trade ties.
