India, US Close to Sealing First Segment of Trade Deal: FM Sitharaman

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman stated that India is in active dialogue with the new US administration and hopes to finalize the first tranche of the bilateral trade agreement 'positively' by autumn (September-October) this year.

"The long and short of dealing with the US is not only for this bilateral tariff-related issue, but we also have the country as our biggest trade partner with whom we must have an agreement", Sitharaman added in an interaction with the Indian diaspora in San Francisco.

In August this year, US President Donald Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi agreed to initiate negotiations for a bilateral trade deal (BTA) as part of an overall new aim 'Mission 500' of increasing bilateral trade to over double at $500 billion by 2030.

"The eagerness with which we are pursuing the US administration, even as I speak, I believe the Vice President of the United States of America (J.D. Vance) is in India, he will be meeting the Prime Minister, hopefully tonight or tomorrow. Amidst all this, the Assistant USTR had come to India to review the progress or to meet the negotiating team that is handling the tariff-related negotiation and the bilateral trade agreement that we wish to sign. In fact, the progress of the agreement or the trade agreement that we are pursuing, at least a first tranche is something which we hope to close positively by the fall this year", she said in an interaction at the India Community Centre, in San Francisco on Sunday evening (Monday morning IST).

Sitharaman is also going to meet US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and will address the officials in the office of United States Trade Representative.

The Finance Minister further stated that India is being noticed worldwide for its potential and economic power, appealing to the Indian diaspora in the US to join hands with India so that India as well as the US can develop and prosper.

India is now the fastest-growing economy fueled by the 'visionary leadership' of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and stability offered by a stable government, she added.

"When we say India is the fastest-growing economy and when the IMF and World Bank acknowledge that India can be the engine powering world trade, what they are acknowledging is the vast potential which lies in India", she said.

Emphasizing the way forward to make the Indian economy strong, FM Sitharaman added: "When our country was hit by the Covid-19 pandemic, our fiscal deficit increased. But in 2021, we issued a clear indication as to how we wanted to control our fiscal deficit. We issued year-on-year targets and made a promise that we would take the fiscal deficit below 4.5 per cent by the year 2026. And this is what we have been keeping up every single year".

On a five-day tour of the United States, she, while on the visit, is expected to give a keynote address at Stanford University and meet with CEOs in San Francisco to discuss investments and technological upgradation. The visit will also comprise attending diaspora events to augment India's international cultural presence.

In Washington DC, Sitharaman will participate in the IMF and World Bank Spring Meetings, and the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meetings. She will also have bilateral meetings on the margins with counterparts from the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Saudi Arabia, and other nations, and senior officials of international financial institutions. Following her US visit, Sitharaman will visit Peru from April 26 to 30.