More Stories

Informist, Wednesday, Apr. 15, 2026

 

Please click here to read all liners published on this story

--Govt: Indian delegation to visit US Apr 20-22 for trade deal talks
--Trade secy: Aim to finalise contours of US trade deal at upcoming visit
--Trade secy: Aim to formalise legal pact of US trade deal at upcoming visit
--Trade secy: India, US to discuss structure of trade deal Apr 20-22
--Trade secy on changing tariff levels with US: To visit US with open mind
--Trade secy: Energy, LPG imports from US have gone up

 

NEW DELHI – A delegation of Indian officials will visit the US on Apr. 20-22 to hold bilateral trade talks, Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal said Wednesday. India is aiming to finalise the contours of the trade deal with the US during the visit, the secretary said.

 

India is expecting to formalise the legal pact for the trade deal next week, Agrawal said. India and the US will also discuss the structure of the trade deal, he said.

 

This is the first meeting between India and the US since they released a joint statement on the interim trade deal in February. The two sides had announced an interim trade deal under which Washington scrapped the penal tariff of 25% on Indian goods and cut the reciprocal tariff to 18% from 25%. But later that month, the US Supreme Court quashed the reciprocal tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump.

 

Currently, the Trump administration has imposed a blanket 10% tariff on all goods entering the US. Following these developments, an Indian government official had said last month that the terms of the India-US trade deal are subject to change. 

 

"We are looking at finalising the legal agreement, which is a logical follow-up of the joint statement released on Feb. 7. There is a need for further discussions and follow-up engagement to take this forward," Agrawal said. 

 

On the tariff levels for Indian goods, Agrawal said the delegation, led by India's Chief Negotiator and Commerce Joint Secretary Darpan Jain, will visit the US to have trade talks with an "open mind". The two sides have been engaging virtually in the meantime, Agrawal said.

 

The US has also initiated an investigation into India and 15 other nations, alleging unfair trade practices, including excess capacity and forced labour. "Both sides will sit together and discuss how these issues need to be structured and addressed," Agrawal said. The commerce ministry will also submit its response to the office of the US Trade Representative regarding the probe later Wednesday, another government official said.  

 

"India and the US will work together to finalise timelines and next steps as part of the ongoing engagement," Agrawal said. Meanwhile, India's trade surplus with the US fell to $34.34 billion in 2025-26 (Apr-Mar) from $40.88 billion a year ago. This is mainly due to a rise in imports of energy products and liquefied petroleum gas from the US, Agrawal said.

 

In FY26, India's exports to the US rose to $87.31 billion from $86.51 billion a year ago and imports increased to $52.97 billion from $45.63 billion a year ago.  End

 

US$1 = INR 93.37

 

Reported by Krity Ambey and Shweta

Edited by Saji George Titus

 

For users of real-time market data terminals, Informist news is available exclusively on the NSE Cogencis WorkStation.

 

Cogencis news is now Informist news. This follows the acquisition of Cogencis Information Services Ltd. by NSE Data & Analytics Ltd., a 100% subsidiary of the National Stock Exchange of India Ltd. As a part of the transaction, the news department of Cogencis has been sold to Informist Media Pvt. Ltd.

 

Informist Media Tel +91 (11) 4220-1000

Send comments to feedback@informistmedia.com

 

© Informist Media Pvt. Ltd. 2026. All rights reserved.