Who is Rajesh Agrawal? India's chief negotiator leading US trade talks – know about IAS officer's career and education
India's chief negotiator Rajesh Agrawal will meet Assistant US Trade Representative for South and Central Asia Brendan Lynch to discuss Bilateral Trade Agreement.
Rajesh Agrawal, India's chief negotiator and Special Secretary in the Department of Commerce, is likely to meet his American counterpart on Tuesday, September 16, to discuss US-India trade.
A government official earlier told news agency ANI that Assistant US Trade Representative for South and Central Asia Brendan Lynch will visit India on Monday night and will continue talks for a Bilateral Trade Agreement with the Indian counterpart on Tuesday.
India has so far held five rounds of negotiations with the US. The proposed last round of talks with the US between August 25 and 29 was postponed.
Who is Rajesh Agrawal, India's chief negotiator leading US trade talks?
Rajesh Agrawal's education: The senior Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer earned a Bachelor's Degree in Statistics and Masters' Degree in Operations Research from Delhi University. He pursued Executive Post-Graduate Diploma in International Business from the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade, as per his LinkedIn profile.
Rajesh Agrawal's career: Rajesh Agrawal is a 1994-batch IAS officer from the Manipur cadre who was named the Special Secretary in the interim in the Department of Commerce in April this year, news agency PTI reported.
He was also appointed the next Commerce Secretary. He will take over as the secretary after the retirement of Sunil Barthwal on September 30.
"The officer will take over as Secretary, Department of Commerce... vice Shri Sunil Barthwal, IAS (BH:89) upon his superannuation on September 30, 2025," a government order said.
Currently, Rajesh Agrawal is the chief negotiator for the proposed bilateral trade agreement with the US. He will take charge of the Department of Commerce at a time when India struggles with US President Donald Trump's 50 per cent tariffs on Indian imports and the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
According to PTI, Rajesh Agrawal also leads the review of the free trade agreement in goods with the 10-nation ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) bloc, in addition to negotiations for the proposed comprehensive trade pact with Australia and Peru.
He has also been the chief negotiator for the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF).
As per his LinkedIn profile, Rajesh Agrawal also served in the Government of Manipur as the Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Power in 2022.
He also held the post of Chief Electoral Officer in Manipur. Agrawal was appointed the Executive Director at the ITPO.
He was appointed the Joint Secretary at the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship between 2015 and 2019.
India-US trade talks
India and the US will be back at the negotiating table to work out a trade deal in New Delhi September 16, raising hopes for a breakthrough weeks after President Donald Trump imposed punitive tariffs on India for buying Russian oil.
Over the past few months, India and the US have been negotiating an interim trade deal as Trump imposed 50% tariff on Indian goods imported by the US.
Still, the Indian side expressed reservations about the US demand to open up the agricultural and dairy sectors, ANI reported. Agriculture and dairy are crucial for India, as these two sectors provide livelihood opportunities to a significant portion of the population.