India-US trade pact to be signed in due course; only a few issues under discussion: Minister of Commerce

Commerce Minister Rajesh Agarwal. File

“The India-US trade pact is more or less complete, only a few issues are being discussed by the two sides and it will be signed at an appropriate time,” Commerce Minister Rajesh Agarawal said in Mumbai on Wednesday (September 9, 2026).

He said: “Any trade agreement must provide some kind of preferential market access to each other.”

“My minister (Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal) has said several times that the deal is more or less done. There are a few things that both sides are discussing but they will be signed at the appropriate time. There is a requirement that any deal must give you some kind of preferential access from the other side.”

“From the Indian side, because we are operating on MFN tariffs, it is easier. From their (US) side, they are operating on executive tariffs. So they are building an architecture to create these differences and create preferential market access. So at the appropriate time, we should be able to sign,” he told reporters in Mumbai. The secretary added that bilateral trade between the two countries is growing.

Mr Goyal recently said that the details of the Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) with the US would be announced once Washington offered India preferential terms compared to its competitors.

In trade parlance, the MFN rate is the standard import or customs duty that a country charges on goods from another country if there is no trade agreement for lower tariffs.

The US has imposed an additional 10% import duty on top of its most-favoured-nation tariff on several countries, including India, under a Section 301 investigation into forced labour. It has been stored since July 24.

During April-July 2026-27, India’s merchandise exports to the US rose 3% to $34.5 billion, while imports rose 22.42% to $22.12 billion.

In February, India and the US announced the finalization of the framework for the first phase of the pact, but changes in the customs environment in the US led to further talks between the two countries on the pact.

Mr. Goyal will visit the US in late September to attend the G-20 ministerial meeting in Milwaukee and hold bilateral talks with USTR Jamieson Greer, with trade pact issues figuring in the discussions.

India-Chile Trade Pact

Mr. Agarwal said negotiations between the two countries were progressing well. “We’re in the final stages. There are certain areas we’re currently stuck on, but we’re looking forward to the next 2-3 months…in which we should find something,” he said.

Both countries are negotiating the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA).

Regarding the India-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement, the minister said the agreement is expected to come into effect from October. “I’ll meet the date when it’s done,” he added. Both countries signed the pact on April 27.

Regarding the BRICS meeting, Mr. Agarwal said that more than 2,000 business delegates from all BRICS members would attend.

“There are also more than 900 international delegates joining this meeting,” he said, adding that it would be a good opportunity for businesses from BRICS countries to “coordinate with each other, meet and see what new partnerships can be created to increase trade”.

Asked about any possibility of discussion on rupee-based trade, he said, “I don’t think it’s a trade-related thing that we’re talking about.”

Published – 9 Sep 2026 18:33 IST