India-US interim trade deal in final stages, says Foreign Secretary

India and the United States are nearing the finalization of an interim bilateral trade agreement, with both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Donald Trump urging its swift conclusion. Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri announced on Thursday that the deal is in its "final stages."

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With the United States, we have made significant progress already on the conclusion of an interim free trade bilateral trade agreement. We are in the final stages of concluding that agreement. Next week in fact the United States trade representative Mr Jamieson Greer will be visiting India to take forward these discussions.

Misri stated that US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer will visit India next week to advance discussions. The interim trade deal was a significant topic during a bilateral meeting between Modi and Trump on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Evian, France. Trump indicated that the two nations were "very close" to finalizing the agreement, praising Modi's efforts to encourage investment in the United States.

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We had, in particular, some very good conversations with Prime Minister Modi, India. And we're doing trade deals, we're doing a lot of things, a lot of things are happening between the United States and India.

Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal previously informed that Greer's visit aims to finalize the framework of the interim agreement. Discussions are expected to focus on giving final touches to the framework deal and the larger Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) that has been under negotiation. This visit comes as India engages with the US on proposed tariff measures under Section 301 proceedings.

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Prime Minister is building a lot in the United States. He's spending a lot of money in the United States. So we appreciate that job.

Agrawal added that the proposed trade agreement is comprehensive, covering the entire gamut of the India-US trade relationship. He expressed confidence that finalizing the deal would provide clear answers regarding the Section 301 investigations. Beyond trade, the leaders also reviewed progress on the India-US COMPACT, which focuses on military partnership.

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USTR is coming on the evening of June 22nd. On 23-24 June, he will be engaging with our Minister for Commerce and Industry. We expect that discussions will be centred around giving final touches to the framework deal and also on the larger BTA that has been under discussion between the two sides.