India Eyes Multi-Stage Trade Deal with the U.S.

India is moving to a staged trade agreement with the United States, hoping to reach an initial agreement before it is forced to accept the reciprocal tariffs former President Donald Trump has proposed, which would likely come due by July. Senior Indian government officials in New Delhi have conveyed that the format is structured as a three-stage negotiation, where stage one addresses market access for industrial products, some agricultural commodities, and non-tariff barriers, which include excessive quality control regulations. 

The negotiations remain fluid and ongoing, but India is hopeful about an interim agreement in the coming weeks. While this stage would not comprehensively resolve everything, and in fact, many trade irritants remain for future stages of negotiations, we intend to get this first part out of the way and start to deal with some early trade irritants while leaving the hard-fought negotiations and the politically contentious negotiations for subsequent stages. 

Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal is in Washington today for four days. He will meet U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. He should help round up plans to finish the negotiations, with the pressure of July facing both sides to conclude negotiations.

Also read about SMBC buying a majority stake in India’s Yes Bank

While there is no official confirmation that the U.S. embraced the multi-phase framework, Indian negotiators believe a gradual approach could lead to a quicker agreement on less contentious issues and ensure no trade disruptions. 

The fresh round of talks emphasises both governments’ attempts to reset trade relations after several years of friction and aspire to build a more balanced and predictable framework for bilateral trade.