Proposed agreement aims to expand reciprocal market access and help bilateral trade reach $500 billion by 2030.
Key Highlights
- India and the United States are reportedly close to finalising a bilateral trade agreement.
- The deal is expected to provide greater access to India’s 1.4-billion-consumer market for American goods.
- Both countries are seeking reciprocal and mutually beneficial trade terms.
- The agreement supports the “Mission 500” target of achieving $500 billion in bilateral trade by 2030.
- US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer is holding discussions in India with Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal.
- Indian companies are also increasing their investments in the United States.
News Story
Washington: The United States and India are “very, very close” to concluding a major bilateral trade agreement aimed at expanding market access and strengthening economic relations between the two countries, a senior US official has said.
Speaking at an event organised at Capitol Hill by the Foundation for India and Indian Diaspora Studies, US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Bethany Poulos Morrison said the proposed deal would open India’s 1.4-billion-strong consumer market to American goods on reciprocal and mutually beneficial terms.
Morrison said Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump were advancing a result-oriented relationship, with both sides focusing on tangible outcomes rather than merely the number of diplomatic meetings.
“We’re not measuring the relationship by meetings. We’re measuring it by results,” she said while referring to the trade negotiations initiated following an understanding reached between the two leaders earlier in 2026.
Morrison said that both countries had announced their intention in February 2026 to conclude the proposed trade agreement and that negotiations had now reached an advanced stage.
“We are very, very close,” she said.
The trade agreement is also expected to support the two countries’ ambitious “Mission 500” initiative, which aims to increase India-US bilateral trade to $500 billion by 2030.
Morrison said the US administration was pursuing the target with a strong sense of urgency.
Her remarks came as US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer visited India for discussions with Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal regarding the proposed agreement.
The negotiations are expected to focus on tariffs, reciprocal market access, trade barriers and opportunities for businesses in both countries.
Highlighting the growing economic partnership, Morrison also noted that Indian companies were expanding their investments in the United States, contributing to employment, innovation and economic growth.
The proposed agreement could mark an important step in India-US economic relations, although the final terms and timeline for its conclusion have not yet been officially announced.
