India to seal US trade pact only after receiving preferential tariff rates

India's commerce and industry minister, Piyush Goyal, told participants in a Leveraging FTAs Outreach workshop that the country will only announce the final details of its bilateral trade agreement with the United States after Washington provides preferential tariff rates compared with competing nations. The proposed deal is intended to expand market access, lower trade barriers, and deepen economic ties between the two economies.

According to a senior US official, the agreement's text is effectively final and could be signed within the next three to four months, with the only remaining issue being procedural, linked to US Section 301 investigations. India has been pressing for tariff concessions that would give its exporters an advantage over rivals. The timing of the finalization now hinges on the US response to these tariff demands.