Indian envoy to US meets US Trade Representative amid talks on finalising trade deal

Indian Ambassador to the US Vinay Mohan Kwatra met US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and former National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien here.

The meeting on Wednesday comes as India and the US are negotiating the finer elements of a bilateral trade agreement (BTA).

Also read: India trade delegation to visit US for BTA talks, first in-person meeting since October


A delegation of Indian officials is expected to visit the US to hold discussions on the bilateral trade agreement.

"Honored to host Amb. Jamieson Greer and Amb. Robert O'Brien at India House today," Kwatra said in a post on X on Wednesday.

In February, India and the US announced finalisation of a framework for the first phase of the bilateral trade agreement. According to that framework, the US had agreed to reduce tariffs on India to 18 per cent.

"We had productive conversation on a range of bilateral cooperation opportunities. Also discussed important developments across the world. Appreciate their strong and continuing support for strong India-US ties," Kwatra said.

Bilateral trade was part of the discussion during the recent visit of Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri to Washington last week.

On February 20, the US Supreme Court ruled that President Donald Trump's tariffs policies imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEPPA) were unconstitutional.

Also read: Indian official team to visit Washington next week for trade talks

India and the US were initially planning to sign the trade deal in March, but changes in the tariff landscape following the US Supreme Court ruling have altered the situation.

Official sources have earlier stated that the agreement will be signed once the new global tariff architecture of America is in place.

The trade negotiations also come under the cloud of two investigations launched by the US Trade Representative under Section 301 that deals with failure to enforce prohibition on imports of goods produced using forced labour and over capacity production in certain manufacturing sectors by some countries, including China and India.