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Informist, Friday, Nov. 28, 2025

 

--Trade secy Agrawal: In last phase of India-EU FTA negotiation 
--Trade secy:May finalise framework in 2025 to address US reciprocal tariff 
--Trade secy: Working with US on framework to address reciprocal tariffs 
--Trade secy: Hope to finalise framework to deal with US reciprocal tariff 
--CONTEXT: Trade secy Agrawal speaking at FICCI's AGM 
--Trade secy Agrawal: Engaged with US on trade agreement

 

NEW DELHI – India and the US are likely to agree on the framework for a trade deal within this calendar year to address the reciprocal tariffs imposed by Washington on Indian exports, Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal said Friday. "We are very optimistic and very hopeful that we should find a solution within this calendar year," he said at the 98th FICCI Annual General Meeting and Annual Convention.

 

These are two separate parallel negotiations between the two countries, he said. "But one will feed into the other. What needs to come first is the framework trade deal, which is able to address the reciprocal tariffs," Agrawal said.

 

"Right now we are engaged with not only negotiating a bilateral trade agreement, which definitely, with a country like the US, will take a lot of time because trade agreements are very wide-ranging agreements these days with a lot of issues, not only market access issues, which are negotiated under the umbrella," he said.

 

The US has imposed a 50% tariff on imports from India, 25% of which is a punitive measure for New Delhi's continued purchases of crude oil from Moscow. "The assumption is that a trade deal will be beneficial for Indian exports only when there will be a reversal of both 25% tariffs, not only the one which is a trade tariff which has been imposed on trade in lieu of the lack of a trade deal, but also the other 25% tariff which has been imposed for some other geopolitical reasons. Until and unless both are addressed together, it will not mean a meaningful deal for India," Agrawal said.

 

Agrawal said there is a need to find a pathway for the complete elimination of reciprocal tariffs to progress on the bilateral trade agreement. "So I think that will take a bit of time, and we'll not hurry up those. We are working on various aspects of the bilateral trade agreement, but let the first one come first, and then we'll see what are the timelines that we put for the bilateral trade agreement.

 

The US accounts for nearly 20% of India's total exports. In 2024-25 (Apr-Mar), India exported goods worth $86.51 billion to the US, with a trade surplus of $40.82 billion. In the current financial year till October, there is a trade surplus of $22.06.

 

"We have engaged on it (bilateral trade agreement) for the last few months very deeply with the US teams, and I think we are close. We have tried to iron out most of the issues. Now it is only a matter of time when this decision has to be taken, when the two countries have to find the right landing zone to announce the deal," Agrawal said.

 

He also said the free trade agreement negotiations with the European Union are in the last phase. "So this last phase started two to three months back. But there is engagement at all levels, including my negotiating teams, at my personal level, and also my minister's level, on a regular basis for this FTA," he said. 

 

He, however, said that the last rounds of negotiations are normally the most arduous and most difficult. "We are trying to do it in the next few months. But we will not put a hard deadline on it because we know that at the end of it, it is the quality of the deal that will matter and not the timing of the deal," Agrawal said.  End

 

US$1 = INR 89.41

 

Reported by Sagar Sen and Afra Abubacker

Edited by Saji George Titus

 

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