Senior trade officials from India and the United States will hold four days of discussions to finalise details of an interim trade agreement
May 31, 2026: India and the United States will begin a fresh round of trade negotiations on Monday as chief negotiators from both countries meet to finalise the details of an interim trade pact. The US delegation will be led by chief negotiator Brendan Lynch, while India’s team will be headed by Darpan Jain. The four-day talks aim to advance discussions on market access, customs procedures, investment promotion, non-tariff barriers, trade facilitation and economic security cooperation.
The negotiations build on a framework agreed in February, when both countries outlined the first phase of a broader India-US Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA). However, changes in US tariff policies and legal developments have altered the trade landscape since then, prompting both sides to revisit aspects of the original framework. Previous discussions held in Washington in April laid the groundwork for the current round of talks in India.
Under the proposed framework, India has offered tariff reductions on a range of US industrial, agricultural and food products, while also expressing plans to significantly increase imports of American energy products, aircraft, technology goods and raw materials over the coming years. The talks are considered strategically important as both countries seek to strengthen economic ties amid shifting global trade policies. The United States remained India’s second-largest trading partner in 2025-26, with bilateral trade continuing to expand despite changing tariff and regulatory challenges.