india us trade deal
India US trade deal: A big news has come out regarding the much awaited trade deal between India and America. The matter has now moved beyond ‘talks’ to paperwork. The government has indicated that if everything goes well, this deal can be signed in the next month i.e. March 2026. On Monday, Commerce Secretary Rajesh Aggarwal gave a big update on this entire process. He made it clear that the outline of the deal is ready and a special team of Indian officials is going to leave for America next week to give it legal shape.
‘Final touch’ will take place in Washington next week
India has come into full active mode to finalize this agreement. According to the Commerce Secretary, a team of Indian officials will visit America in the week starting February 23. The main objective of this visit is to finalize the ‘legal text’ of the deal.
This important mission will be led by Darpan Jain, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Commerce. This team will sit with their American counterparts in Washington and examine the specifics of the agreement. However, it is not that the talks are dependent only on this visit, continuous virtual talks are already going on between the two countries through video conferencing. Now this physical meeting will work to take the same conversation to its conclusion.
Structure ready, now turn for legal seal
In fact, earlier this month, India and America had issued a joint statement. It was told that a ‘framework’ of the interim trade agreement has been prepared.
Commerce Secretary Rajesh Aggarwal explained it in very simple words. He said, “The joint statement has set out the framework of the deal. The challenge now is to turn that framework into a legal agreement that both sides can sign.” To put it in simple language, the plan of the house has been approved, now the brick-and-mortar work i.e. concrete documents are being prepared so that there are no legal hurdles in the future.
Target of March, but still suspense on date
When will this deal be finalized? The government’s stance on this is positive, but also cautious. The Commerce Secretary said that both sides are trying to ‘close’ and sign this agreement in March.
However, he also made it clear that he has not set any deadline for this. He said, “There are many intricacies in finalizing a legal agreement, which both parties have to resolve.” This means that if all the legal issues are resolved in the talks in Washington, then good news can be received in March. But if necessary, the round of talks can extend further till July, although the priority remains March.
