By Manoj Kumar
NEW DELHI, April 23 (Reuters) – India and the U.S. are engaged in constructive talks aimed at reaching a balanced and mutually beneficial trade agreement, a spokesperson from India’s foreign ministry said on Thursday.
The comments followed a three-day visit to Washington by an Indian trade delegation led by senior commerce ministry official Darpan Jain for talks with U.S. counterparts.
“These engagements are ongoing and constructive,” spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal told reporters at a weekly media briefing.
“Both sides are working towards a balanced, mutually beneficial and forward-looking trade agreement, taking into account each other’s concerns and priorities, and to achieve a trade target of $500 billion by 2030,” he said.
That target would be more than double bilateral goods and services trade of about $212 billion in 2024.
A U.S. official said the talks were “constructive but gaps remain” but gave no further information on any trade targets or what sticking points remained to resolve.
The talks reflect a broader effort by New Delhi and Washington to clinch a trade pact, even as uncertainty over U.S. tariff policy has complicated negotiations.Â
Earlier this week, Trade Minister Piyush Goyal said the two sides had nearly finalised the first tranche of a bilateral trade agreement and were working through the remaining details, including a mechanism to secure preferential market access for India in the U.S. market relative to its competitors.
No concrete outcome emerged from the latest round of talks but both sides will continue to engage, a government official said on the condition of anonymity, adding that the Indian delegation was expected to return to New Delhi by early Friday.
Efforts to frame an interim trade pact, including a proposal to lower U.S. tariffs on Indian goods to about 18%, have been clouded by uncertainty following a U.S. Supreme Court ruling although negotiations are continuing.
Trade analysts and the opposition parties have questioned the government’s plans to sign a deal with Washington after President Donald Trump announced a temporary 10% duty on imports from all countries, including India.
New Delhi is hoping to align any trade deal with Washington’s planned changes in June to the so-called Section 301 tariffs, which could reshape duties on key sectors and influence market access.
(Reporting by Manoj Kumar in New Delhi, additional reporting by Andrea Shalal and David Lawder in Washington; Editing by Keith Weir and David Gregorio)
