Indian authorities expect to sign a bilateral trade deal with the US in three phases, Bloomberg reported, citing Indian government sources.
According to available information, the first phase will be an interim agreement that New Delhi hopes to reach by July, when US President Donald Trump's reciprocal tariffs are due to take effect. It is likely to cover areas such as market access for industrial goods, some agricultural products and the removal of some non-tariff barriers.
As the agency notes, negotiations are still ongoing and it is not clear whether the Trump administration has agreed to a three-phase process for concluding a trade agreement. India’s Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal is currently in Washington and told X that he had “good talks” with US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on progress on the first tranche of the trade deal.
The second phase of the India-US deal could lead to broader and more detailed agreements, which are expected to be reached in the fall. The timing could be agreed during Trump’s planned visit to India for the QUAD (Quadruple Security Dialogue) leaders’ summit.
The final stage of the deal is likely to be a comprehensive agreement that will enter into force after approval by the US Congress. It may not be completed until next year, Indian officials familiar with the matter said.
In February, during a visit to Washington by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India and the United States agreed to negotiate the first phase of a trade deal to be concluded by the end of the year, with the aim of increasing bilateral trade to $500 billion by 2030.