Talks with US on bilateral trade agreement going well: Piyush Goyal

Auckland: Commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal Wednesday said India and the US are continuing discussions to seal a proposed bilateral trade agreement (BTA) and that the talks are advancing smoothly.

"Talks are going well...and are continuously going on," said Goyal. "There are many sensitive issues, many serious issues, so it is natural that it will take some time," the minister said when asked about the progress of negotiations for the trade deal.

Both countries have completed five rounds of talks so far for the first phase of the BTA.

A team of Indian officials, led by commerce secretary Rajesh Agrawal, was in Washington last month for talks with their US counterparts. The three-day talks ended on October 17.
This February, leaders of India and the US directed officials to negotiate the proposed BTA, the first tranche of which they aim to conclude by this Fall.

These deliberations are crucial as US President Donald Trump has imposed a steep 50% tariff on Indian goods, half of which are penal tariffs for New Delhi's continued purchases of Russian crude oil.

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