Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal on Monday shared a major update on the India-US trade deal, saying the two countries will very soon sign the first bilateral trade agreement (BTA), with most discussions already concluded and only a few issues remaining to be addressed.
The trade agreement will be signed in a phased manner, and negotiations for the second phase of the pact will continue after the signing of the first tranche of the deal.
Goyal said that negotiators from India and the US will hold discussions from June 2 to June 4 to address the remaining issues, after which the first phase of the agreement is likely to be announced.
“We will very soon announce the signing of the first BTA with the US and continue our conversations on the second phase,” Goyal said.
The minister further noted that around 99 per cent of the agreement has already been reached, with only a few issues remaining to be addressed.
Meanwhile, during Tuesday’s talks, the US delegation will be led by chief negotiator Brendan Lynch, while India’s team will be headed by Darpan Jain, Additional Secretary in the Department of Commerce.
The negotiations are aimed at key areas including market access, non-tariff barriers, customs and trade facilitation, investment promotion, and economic security cooperation.