US Trade Envoy Visits India to Finalize First Phase Deal

Senior U.S. and Indian trade officials are set to meet in New Delhi next week in a push to finalize the first phase of a major bilateral trade agreement. U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer is scheduled to arrive on June 22 and will hold two days of discussions with India’s Commerce and Industry Minister, Piyush Goyal, on June 23 and 24.

Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal stated that the objective of the meetings is to give final touches to the framework of the initial agreement, often referred to as the first tranche or interim deal. The discussions will also cover the broader, comprehensive Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) that both nations continue to negotiate. This high-level visit follows a round of talks earlier in June, where delegations led by chief negotiators engaged in what officials described as constructive discussions on trade in goods, non-tariff measures, customs facilitation, and economic security alignment.

The negotiations were launched in 2025 after an agreement between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and U.S. President Donald Trump to pursue a deal aimed at more than doubling bilateral trade to $500 billion by 2030. Trade data shows the economic...