Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri met US Deputy Trade Representative Rick Switzer in New Delhi on Wednesday, a meeting officials said signalled a warming in India‑US economic ties. The Ministry of External Affairs said the two discussed the strength of the economic and technology partnership, ongoing trade talks, ways to boost bilateral trade and measures to build resilient supply chains. Switzer is on a two‑day visit to India for high‑level meetings.
A US trade delegation is in New Delhi from December 10-12 to push forward negotiations aimed at finalising a bilateral trade agreement (BTA). MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said Switzer would hold talks with senior Indian officials to advance the discussions. Both sides are negotiating a comprehensive, multi-sector pact intended to substantially expand trade.
Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, speaking to reporters in Jaipur, said talks with the US are progressing steadily. He noted ongoing engagement on a range of trade issues and confirmed the US negotiating team’s presence in India, expressing hope to meet them during the visit. Goyal added that trade negotiations are complex and time-consuming because they involve many elements and “many dots have to be connected,” and he stressed India does not negotiate to artificial deadlines.
Earlier, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told the US Senate Appropriations Committee that India’s offers on outstanding trade issues were “the best that the US has ever received,” when asked about opportunities to boost American agricultural exports to India.
India and the US have conducted several rounds of talks and kept the dialogue open despite delays. New Delhi hopes a first tranche of the agreement can be finalised in the coming months. The BTA was first discussed during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Washington earlier this year, and both capitals remain keen to formalise the deal.
