India, US lock first phase of trade pact; legal drafting underway: Piyush Goyal

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Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Thursday that the aim is to complete the first phase soon. It will be put into effect once India secures a competitive advantage over its peer countries, he added.

"US bilateral trade agreement's first tranche has been finalised and it is going through final contours, the legal drafting and we hope to be able to finalise that soon and operationalise that once we get the competitive advantage over our peer countries," Goyal said at an event in the national capital.

US says big items are done

US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor also said the two countries are near a deal. The remarks come ahead of US Secretary of State Marco Rubio's upcoming visit to India.

Speaking at the Bloomberg New Economy Forum in Delhi, Gor said the broad framework of the agreement has been worked out, though talks on smaller issues are still on.

"The big picture, the big framework, the big items are done," Gor said, expressing confidence that the two sides would conclude the agreement soon.

He said the talks were complex because of the size of the two economies and the number of products and sectors involved.

"With a place like India, you've got 1.4 billion people. It's a complex place. We're a complex place, and so matching everything is not going to be done overnight," he said.

Gor said he had taken part in several rounds of talks involving US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and Goyal, which had reached the level of individual products and tariff percentages. "We're very close to landing it," he said. The two countries have been working on the agreement for about a year and a half, he noted.

India's trade secretary said that by the end of June, negotiators had identified the sticking points with the US, and that these have since reduced. He said India is seeking preferential market access in the US deal and wants more tariff stability.

The talks come as the US administration revisits parts of its trade arrangements after the US Supreme Court ruled against its use of emergency economic powers to impose tariffs.

Goyal also said the free trade agreement between India and the European Union will be signed in December and come into force from February or March next year.