Indian team to visit U.S. this week for trade talks

A team of senior officials from India will visit the U.S. this week for trade talks and negotiations on the proposed Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) are progressing well, a top official said on Monday (October 13, 2025). In February 2025, leaders of the two countries directed officials to negotiate a proposed BTA.

It was planned to conclude the first tranche of the pact by the fall (October-November) of 2025. So far, five rounds of negotiations have been completed.

“The Indian team will visit this week,” the official added.

Last month, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal led an official delegation to New York for trade talks. After that meeting, India and the U.S. decided to continue negotiations for an early conclusion of a mutually beneficial Bilateral Trade Agreement.

Both sides held constructive meetings on various aspects of the trade deal. During the visit, the Minister held meetings with United States Trade Representative (USTR) Jamieson Greer and U.S. Ambassador-designate to India Sergio Gor.

The negotiations are important as the U.S. imposed a 25% reciprocal tariff and an additional 25% penalty on Indian goods entering the American market for purchasing Russian crude oil.

At present, a total of 50% additional import duty is imposed on Indian goods. The pact aims to more than double the bilateral trade to $500 billion by 2030, from the current $191 billion.

The U.S. remained India’s largest trading partner for the fourth consecutive year in 2024-25, with bilateral trade valued at $131.84 billion ($86.5 billion exports). The U.S. accounts for about 18% of India’s total goods exports, 6.22% in imports, and 10.73% in the country’s total merchandise trade.