India-US trade deal soon? Nirmala Sitharaman says negotiation efforts are in full force to conclude BTA deal

India-US trade deal: Union Finance Minister of India, Nirmala Sitharaman, on Thursday, 6 November 2025, said that the negotiation efforts to conclude the bilateral trade agreement (BTA) between India and the United States (US) are in full force.

Sitharaman said that India will have to wait for the conclusions of the trade discussions, which are currently underway.

“Efforts to have trade agreement signed are in full force. We will wait for the conclusions,” said Nirmala Sitharaman at the 12th SBI Banking and Economics Conclave 2025.

The Finance Minister reiterated that India is engaged in talks with both the European Union (EU) and the United States (US) to finalise a trade deal.

“We will have to wait for that final destination to be reached. Efforts are being made, there are just no second thoughts on that. Commerce Ministry is seriously engaged in negotiations with the EU and the US,” said Sitharaman.

MEA's update on the trade deal

Mint reported earlier on 30 October 2025, that the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said that the authorities are engaged with the United States to finalise the trade deal between the two nations.

“We continue to remain engaged with the US side to conclude a trade deal, and these discussions are continuing…” said Randhir Jaiswal, the spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).

Union Commerce Minister, Piyush Goyal, also reiterated on 18 October 2025, that the BTA discussions are “progressing in a cordial manner.” However, the Minister also said that there will be no agreement until the interests of the country are fulfilled.

“No agreement until interests of the nation — India's farmers, India's fishermen, India's MSME sector are fully addressed,” said Piyush Goyal. “The talks are ongoing and we will definitely inform you when we reach a decision,” he said.

Here's what the India-US trade talks include

The potential bilateral trade agreement (BTA) between India and the United States comes amid the raging 50% tariff on all Indian goods imported into America on top of the 10% baseline tariffs. US President Donald Trump also imposed a 100% import duty on branded and patented pharmaceutical products into the US.

So far, there have been five rounds of trade deal negotiations since the beginning of the talks. Apart from the United States, the Indian Commerce Ministry is also trying to negotiate trade deals with other nations. Sitharaman highlighted that Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal is currently in New Zealand trying to negotiate a trade deal.

Mint reported earlier that the deadline of the first tranche of the potential trade deal was fixed for October-November 2025. After Trump's meeting with Modi in February 2025, the leaders directed that the proposed deal is aimed to boost the bilateral trade relations to $500 billion by 2030, compared to their current $191 billion.

However, the trade deal faces certain challenges as the United States is seeking to gain access to the Indian agricultural market, while India aims to protect its farmers. Both nations are currently continuing their talks for the upcoming BTA deal.