India-US Trade Deal to Become Operational by April, Minister Says

India’s trade agreement with the US is likely to become operational by April, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Friday. To finalise the legal text of the trade deal with the US, Darpan Jain, joint secretary in the Department of Commerce and the chief negotiator from the Indian side, will lead a team of officials to Washington from February 23. The team will be in the US till the end of next week. The agreement signing will occur sometime in March and it will be operationalised in April, Goyal said. In April, the free trade agreements (FTAs) with the UK and Oman would also start operating. US Trade Representative (USTR) Jamieson Greer is likely to visit India in March to sign the agreement. At an event at the AI Impact Summit here, US Ambassador Sergio Gor said that the India-US trade deal is set to be inked soon. As part of the trade deal, the US announced a reduction of additional tariffs on Indian imports to 18% from 50%. Of the 50% tariffs, the 25% imposed on India for buying crude oil from Russia has already been removed. The remaining 25% tariff was for balancing the trade between the two countries and it will be reduced to 18%. The formal notification reducing the reciprocal tariffs to 18% is likely to be issued soon, said Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal. The deal with the US was finalised on February 4 and announced on February 7. The Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) with the UK, signed on July 24, 2025, last year, could also be operationalised in April, the minister said. The CETA was debated at length in the House of Commons and the resolution at the end of the debate stated, “This House has considered the India-UK FTA.” The House of Lords is due to debate a take note motion on the agreement on March 4. The Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) with Oman, signed on December 18 last year, is also likely to be operationalised in April. The FTA with New Zealand, signed in September, is likely to be operational by September this year while the 27-nation European Union also wants the FTA signed in January this year to be operational as early as possible. Goyal also said that the Terms of Reference (ToR) for the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) with Canada could be finalised during Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s visit to India early next month. The first round of negotiations between India and Israel on their FTA will take place in New Delhi from February 23. The ToR for the agreement were signed last November. As the negotiators engage, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be on an official visit to Israel next week.