India-US virtual talks begin, in-person meet likely in May

India and the United States have intensified efforts to finalise the Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) with virtual discussions underway and physical meetings set to begin by May-end. A delegation of Indian negotiators will visit the US in the second half of May to resume in-person talks.

Meanwhile, reports say, sectoral experts from both nations have kicked off virtual meetings this week, covering key areas like goods trade, tariffs, non-tariff barriers, rules of origin, and customs regulations.

Officials have set an ambitious timeline of autumn 2025 to close the BTA, though early completion remains a possibility. Momentum is building, with the 90-day pause on full implementation of reciprocal tariffs presenting a window to find common ground on tariff-related issues. The US had imposed 26 percent reciprocal tariffs on Indian goods.

Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal emphasised that while there are concerns over the tariff regime, India sees a greater opportunity through trade liberalisation with the US. He noted that past FTAs have led to higher trade volumes with partner countries and expects the BTA to do the same.