India seeks trade deal with US by this fall: Finance minister

By Ahmad Adil

NEW DELHI (AA) - India is aiming to finalize a bilateral trade agreement with the US by fall, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said.

“The progress of the agreement or the trade agreement that we are working on, at least a first tranche, is something which we hope to conclude positively by the fall this year,” Sitharaman said during an event with the Indian diaspora at a community gathering held at the India Community Centre in San Francisco, California on Sunday evening.

Sitharaman is on an official five-day visit to the US this week during which she is expected to hold bilateral meetings with US officials, including her counterpart.

Responding to a question about reciprocal tariffs imposed by the US, Sitharaman said India is “actively engaging” with the Trump administration.

“The long and short of engaging with the US is not just for this reciprocal tariff-related matter but in the interest of keeping an agreement in mind and in the interest of our largest trading partner with whom we need to have an agreement; we are working in order that by fall this year we should at least have the first phase of the agreement signed.”

As part of the Trump administration's reciprocal tariffs, imports from India are subject to a 27% tariff, which has been postponed for 90 days, while a baseline 10% levy is still applicable.