NEW DELHI: Aiming to quickly wrap up the first phase of the Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) with the US before the September-October deadline, India is sending a small delegation of five-six negotiators to the US on April 23. The delegation is likely to stay there for three days, commerce ministry sources told this newspaper.US vice-president J D Vance is due to arrive in India on Monday, April 21. The Indian delegation’s visit a couple of days later indicates the mutual urge to expedite the talks.Earlier, the ministry had indicated that physical negotiations will begin only in the first week of May. “While virtual negotiations have started, we thought we will send a small delegation to the US to carry forward the discussions,” a commerce ministry official told this newspaper.India’s chief negotiator — additional secretary in the Department of Commerce Rajesh Agrawal — will lead the team for the first in-person talks. Agrawal was appointed the next commerce secretary on April 18. He will assume office from October 1.Though some media reports suggest both sides have agreed to have the discussions covering 19 chapters, including tariffs, non-tariff barriers, and customs facilitation, the ministry official quoted earlier denied chapter-wise discussions would be held during the visit of the delegation.He said that chapter-wise discussion would begin in the second half of May. “The texts and contours of those discussions are being prepared currently,” the official said.“The September-October timeline is a deadline, not a target. If negotiations can be concluded earlier, it will benefit both countries. We are aiming to accelerate talks to avoid any adverse outcomes when the pause ends,” said a commerce ministry official. The Trump administration announced a 26% reciprocal tariff on India, but paused it for 90 days.
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