US Delegation Arrives in India to Advance Bilateral Trade Agreement Talks

New Delhi, Jun 1 (KNN) A high-level United States delegation led by Chief Negotiator Brendan Lynch arrived in the capital today to advance negotiations on the proposed India–US Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) and finalise details of an interim trade pact.

The visiting delegation will hold discussions with an Indian team led by Darpan Jain, India's chief negotiator for the trade talks.

The meetings, scheduled from June 1 to June 4 in New Delhi, will focus on issues including market access, non-tariff measures, customs and trade facilitation, investment promotion and economic security cooperation, According to ANI.

The current round of negotiations follows discussions held in Washington, from April 20 to 23, when an Indian delegation led by Jain met US officials as part of the ongoing trade negotiations. 

The talks are being conducted under a framework agreed by India and the United States in a joint statement issued on February 7, 2026, which outlined plans for an interim trade agreement and reaffirmed commitment to a broader BTA.

Under the proposed framework, India has offered to reduce or eliminate tariffs on a range of US industrial and agricultural products, including dried distillers' grains (DDGs), red sorghum for animal feed, tree nuts, fresh and processed fruits, soybean oil, wine and spirits, among other products.

Speaking at the US-India TRUST Initiative event at the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor had earlier said, "Just last week, India had sent a team to Washington DC to finalise the last 1 per cent of that trade deal. Next week we will welcome a US delegation here to continue those talks."

Gor added, "We fully expect that the trade deal will be signed over the next few weeks and months." He also noted that bilateral trade in goods and services between the two countries has increased from about USD 20 billion to more than USD 220 billion over the past two decades.

Highlighting India's role in the bilateral relationship, Gor said, "The importance of India is now... (The US sees India's potential) not only economically but strategically to the world."

(KNN Bureau)