U.S. trade deal: First tranche dealing with reciprocal tariffs to be closed soon, says govt official
In an indication that some of the trade tensions between India and the U.S. might be getting ironed out, a senior government official on Monday (November 17, 2025) said that the first tranche of a trade deal between the two countries is “more or less near closure”.
“Yes, we are engaged with the U.S. on the Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA), but as you are aware, the BTA has two parts in it,” a senior official in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry said on the condition of anonymity as the talks are still ongoing.
“One part of it will take time,” the official explained. “The other part is a package that can address reciprocal tariffs. We are working on both aspects, but the package that can address reciprocal tariffs is more or less near closure. We should get closure on that soon.”
On Sunday, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal too said that “hopefully the U.S. deal will get finalised soon”.
Talks on the reciprocal tariffs aspect of the proposed BTA were derailed in August following the levy of a total 50% tariff on imports from India. This included 25% tariffs imposed as a ‘penalty’ for India’s oil imports from Russia.
In the wake of these tariffs, the sixth round of negotiations on the BTA, which was set to take place in New Delhi in the last week of August, was cancelled. Formal talks did not resume for 1.5 months.
However, Commerce Secretary and chief negotiator for India on the BTA Rajesh Agrawal travelled to Washington with his team for the sixth round of negotiations on October 15-17, indicating that tensions were easing.
Another indication of improving trade relations between India and the U.S. is the announcement on Monday of the first ever structured contract for the import of LPG from the U.S.
During a press briefing, Mr. Agrawal said that while the LPG deal was not a part of negotiations on the trade deal, “it is definitely a part of our endeavour to have balanced trade between the U.S. and India”.
This is significant in light of the fact that Mr. Trump’s reciprocal tariffs on India were largely in reaction to the high trade deficit the U.S. has with India.
.webp)
