The Indian team visited Washington on April 20-23, the first in-person meeting since October 2025
The negotiating teams of India and the U.S. held “constructive” and “forward-looking” talks on a trade deal, the Indian government said following the conclusion of the talks. The talks took place in Washington on April 20-23, 2026.
India and the U.S. on February 7 issued a joint statement agreeing on a framework for an Interim Agreement pertaining to reciprocal tariffs and mutually beneficial trade.
That Interim Agreement was to have been signed in March 2026, but was delayed after the Supreme Court of the U.S. invalidated the reciprocal tariffs U.S. President Donald Trump had levied on other countries, including on India.
The framework agreed to in February also reaffirmed the two countries’ commitment towards achieving a broader Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA).
“In pursuance thereof, the Indian side visited Washington D.C. for an in-person round of meetings with their U.S. counterparts to finalise the details of the Interim Agreement and take forward the negotiations under the broader BTA,” the Ministry of Commerce and Industry said in a short statement issued on Friday (April 24, 2026).
It added that the talks covered multiple areas such as market access, non-tariff measures, technical barriers to trade, customs and trade facilitation, investment promotion, economic security alignment and digital trade.
The statement, however, fell short of stating a deadline by which the Interim Agreement or the BTA would be finalised, or when the next round of talks would be. This round was the first time the two teams had met in person since October 2025.
Speaking at the Hudson Institute Seminar in Washington, senior BJP leader Ram Madhav, however, voiced his confidence that the deal would be signed soon.
“[India-U.S.] is a very important relationship that we have built over last two decades. That’s on a very shaky wicket,” Mr. Madhav said, speaking at a session with former U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell and think-tank Stimson Centre’s South Asia Director Elizabeth Threlkeld, where he said tariffs and economic issues over the past year had raised problems.
“We are looking forward to the trade deal which is expected to be concluded in less than a month now. We are hoping that when [U.S. Secretary of State Marco] Rubio visits India next month we will finally have closed the deal that is a very important because we are hoping that we will have a better tariff regime,” he said, quoting information received from the government.
Previously, officials in the Ministry of Commerce — including Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal — have said that a deal would be signed only after the U.S. has finalised the tariffs it plans to levy on India and its competitors.
“The meetings were conducted in a constructive and positive spirit with meaningful and forward-looking discussions enabling progress on key matters,” the Indian government’s statement added. “Both sides agreed to remain engaged to maintain this momentum as they move forward.”
The Ministry of External Affairs did not comment on the remarks made during the conference in the U.S., where speakers included Indian ambassador to the U.S. Vinay Kwatra, RSS Secretary General Dattatreya Hosabale and BJP Foreign Affairs Department In-Charge Vijay Chauthaiwale.
India, U.S. conclude ‘constructive’ in-person talks on trade deal, but no word on deadline
The Indian team visited Washington on April 20-23, the first in-person meeting since October 2025
The negotiating teams of India and the U.S. held “constructive” and “forward-looking” talks on a trade deal, the Indian government said following the conclusion of the talks. The talks took place in Washington on April 20-23, 2026.
India and the U.S. on February 7 issued a joint statement agreeing on a framework for an Interim Agreement pertaining to reciprocal tariffs and mutually beneficial trade.
That Interim Agreement was to have been signed in March 2026, but was delayed after the Supreme Court of the U.S. invalidated the reciprocal tariffs U.S. President Donald Trump had levied on other countries, including on India.
The framework agreed to in February also reaffirmed the two countries’ commitment towards achieving a broader Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA).
“In pursuance thereof, the Indian side visited Washington D.C. for an in-person round of meetings with their U.S. counterparts to finalise the details of the Interim Agreement and take forward the negotiations under the broader BTA,” the Ministry of Commerce and Industry said in a short statement issued on Friday (April 24, 2026).
It added that the talks covered multiple areas such as market access, non-tariff measures, technical barriers to trade, customs and trade facilitation, investment promotion, economic security alignment and digital trade.
The statement, however, fell short of stating a deadline by which the Interim Agreement or the BTA would be finalised, or when the next round of talks would be. This round was the first time the two teams had met in person since October 2025.
Speaking at the Hudson Institute Seminar in Washington, senior BJP leader Ram Madhav, however, voiced his confidence that the deal would be signed soon.
“[India-U.S.] is a very important relationship that we have built over last two decades. That’s on a very shaky wicket,” Mr. Madhav said, speaking at a session with former U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell and think-tank Stimson Centre’s South Asia Director Elizabeth Threlkeld, where he said tariffs and economic issues over the past year had raised problems.
“We are looking forward to the trade deal which is expected to be concluded in less than a month now. We are hoping that when [U.S. Secretary of State Marco] Rubio visits India next month we will finally have closed the deal that is a very important because we are hoping that we will have a better tariff regime,” he said, quoting information received from the government.
Previously, officials in the Ministry of Commerce — including Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal — have said that a deal would be signed only after the U.S. has finalised the tariffs it plans to levy on India and its competitors.
“The meetings were conducted in a constructive and positive spirit with meaningful and forward-looking discussions enabling progress on key matters,” the Indian government’s statement added. “Both sides agreed to remain engaged to maintain this momentum as they move forward.”
The Ministry of External Affairs did not comment on the remarks made during the conference in the U.S., where speakers included Indian ambassador to the U.S. Vinay Kwatra, RSS Secretary General Dattatreya Hosabale and BJP Foreign Affairs Department In-Charge Vijay Chauthaiwale.
NO COMMENT