According to the minister, a joint statement would pave the way for reduction of US tariff on Indian goods to 18% from the current 50%.
New Delhi: India and the United States are likely to issue a joint statement regarding the trade deal in the next four-five days and the first tranche of the proposed Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) would be signed by mid-March, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Thursday.
“The first tranche of BTA is almost ready. In the next four to five days a joint statement is expected to be signed between us,” the minister said. “Simultaneously a formal agreement is being drafted which may take a month to a month-and-a-half,” he added.
According to the minister, a joint statement would pave the way for reduction of US tariff on Indian goods to 18% from the current 50%.
Goyal’s statement comes days after US President Donald Trump announced that India and the US have reached a trade deal. The announcement came after months of uncertainty and strained relations following the imposition of a steep 50% tariff by the Trump administration on Indian goods, effective from August 2025.
According to Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal, the US can lower its tariff on Indian goods through an executive order. In a social media post earlier this week, Trump announced to cut the tariff on Indian imports to 18%. The executive order in this regard can be issued after the release of the joint statement.
However, India would reduce its tariffs on the American goods only after the formal signing of the agreement.
“Their (US) tariffs are executive tariffs. Our tariffs are MFN tariffs. So (our) MFN tariffs reduction only can take place after the legal agreement has been signed,” Agrawal told reporters, referring to the non-discriminatory Most-Favoured Nation tariffs charged on imports.
A bilateral trade agreement between the two countries was proposed during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Washington in February 2025. The two countries have also agreed to more than double two-way trade to $500 billion by 2030.
Goyal said India has signed eight trade agreements since Prime Minister Modi came into power in 2014. The first tranche of the BTA with the US will soon become the ninth, he added.
Quote – The first tranche of BTA is almost ready. In the next four to five days a joint statement is expected to be signed between us. Simultaneously a formal agreement is being drafted which may take a month to a month-and-a-half Piyush Goyal Commerce Minister.
