US trade team postpones India visit for BTA talks

New Delhi: The visit of American trade negotiators to New Delhi for the sixth round of the proposed bilateral trade agreement (BTA) later this month, is postponed, officials said.The visit was scheduled for August 25-29.

“No new date is decided yet,” said an official.
The two sides aim to conclude the first tranche of the BTA by fall this year.

The rescheduling of the visit assumes significance as the US has announced a steep 50% tariff on Indian goods.

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While the 25% tariff on Indian goods entering the US came into effect August 7, the additional 25%, announced as penalty for buying crude oil and military equipment from Russia, will come into effect August 27.

The US has pressurred India for greater market access in politically sensitive areas such as farm and dairy, which India has opposed to protect the interests of its farmers.

The US remains India’s largest trading partner and the commerce and industry ministry is in touch with exporters and export promotion councils to assess the impact of the 25% tariff already in effect.

Several inter ministerial committees have also been set up to understand the sectoral impact of the tariffs ad states governments are also looking at how they can facilitate exporters.

India’s exports to the US were $33.53 billion in April-July FY26, which is 17.8% higher than $27.57 billion in April-July 2024.

The BTA negotiations were launched in March 2025 and five rounds of talks have happened till now.

Last month, Kerala government had flagged its “grave concern” over the India-US BTA negotiations citing risks to crops such as coconut, rubber, pepper, cardamom, tea and coffee. It said that any pact impacting agriculture necessitates consultations with state governments to avoid severe socioeconomic and ecological consequences and urged them to “refrain from signing the agreement”.

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