Sources told CNBC-TV18 that trade talks between India and the United States are gaining momentum, with the US chief negotiator expected to arrive in India on Monday night for a day-long meeting on September 16.
Discussions are reportedly ongoing at several levels, including diplomatic, official and between lead negotiators, with both sides maintaining a positive frame of mind as they approach contentious issues.
The sources added that the US has shared its roadmap on trade and tariffs, and India is engaging to understand its perspective and explore convergence, similar to its approach with other partners.
Commerce Ministry on Monday said that India’s trade has remained resilient despite challenges, with ongoing efforts to address tariff concerns, the inverted duty structure, and sanitary, phytosanitary, and technical barriers to trade.
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Meanwhile, US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has renewed his criticism of India’s trade stance, claiming the country shows limited openness despite allowing American agricultural exports and benefiting from global trade.
In a recent interview with Axios, Lutnick remarked, “India boasts a population of 1.4 billion—so why wouldn’t they buy even a single bushel of our corn? They sell everything to us, yet block our products with tariffs.”
Separately, the commerce ministry said the 14th round of India-EU free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations will take place in Brussels from October 6 to 10, while talks with the UK remain active.
Officials highlighted that the India-UK FTA spans 30 chapters, each negotiated word-by-word through mutual agreement.
India, they said, has consciously built up its institutional capacity to conduct trade talks, increasing from handling two negotiations simultaneously to as many as 10 today.
The Centre for Trade and Investment Law (CTIL) and the Centre for WTO Studies are leading legal and economic inputs, respectively, while the government plans to launch a dedicated course on trade negotiations to further strengthen expertise.
The ministry added that several countries have expressed interest in pursuing FTAs with India, reflecting growing demand for deeper economic ties at a time when global trade is facing heightened uncertainty.
