India looks to boost trade with United States and the EU

India needs to ramp up its bilateral relations for trade and investment, India’s Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said, adding that the government “is making all efforts to make India an engine of global growth” in a fast-changing world.

She said: “Bilateralism is now taking the top of the agenda… It is for us to ramp up our bilateral relations with many countries, not just for trade, not just for investment, but also for strategic relations.”

Sitharaman said that global trade was undergoing a complete reset, claiming that “the terms and references with which all of us played trade, with some kind of an anchor in the World Trade Organization, are no longer available”.

She added: “So if the WTO is getting weakened or multilateral institutions are not being effective… bilateral arrangements are going to be the order of the day in terms of trade.” She also said that, sensing the movement toward a new world, India has initiated bilateral trade talks with many nations including the UK and is planning a bilateral trade agreement with the United States.

“I think these are very interesting yet challenging times… India has to make a meaningful contribution to the global reset, as much as continuously make all the efforts to make India move up the ladder, both in terms of per capita income, and also in terms of a business destination, where talent can move, investors can move for the global good,” Sitharaman said.

The Finance Minister’s words were echoed by Prime Minster Narendra Modi, who said the US and India have set a target of doubling their bilateral trade to $500 billion by 2030, adding that both parties, adding: “Our teams will work on concluding, very soon, a mutually beneficial trade agreement.”

Modi made the comment after a meeting with President Donald Trump in Washington. Modi said the US and India would work together on artificial intelligence and semiconductors, and focus on establishing strong supply chains for strategic minerals.

A Trump administration official told reporters earlier that US and Indian officials were also moving forward with talks on a bilateral trade deal and they hoped to have a deal in place this year.

Trump told the news conference India had announced a reduction of tariffs on US goods and said he and Modi would begin talks on disparities on trade with the goal of signing an agreement.

Trump said he had discussed India’s high tariffs during his first term, but was unable to extract any concessions. He said that under the new reciprocal tariffs system he announced recently, the US would simply charge the same tariff rates that India charged.

Talks ongoing with the EU over trade pact

India is also in discussion with the 27-nation grouping — the European Union, for a free trade pact.

The European Union (EU) is seeking lower tariffs on whiskey, wine, cars, and other key products as part of negotiations for a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with India. The demand was a central topic during the visit of the EU’s College of Commissioners, led by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, to India at the end of February.

According to EU officials, trade and technology were high on the agenda as both sides seek to finalize a commercially meaningful agreement. “India’s market remains relatively closed, particularly for key products of interest to the EU and our industries,” an EU official stated. “We expect stronger commitments from India, not just on tariffs but also on non-tariff barriers and procurement rules.”

EU officials have expressed optimism about reaching a deal but acknowledge that bridging the gap in trade expectations remains a challenge. “We have the largest network of trade agreements in the world, covering 76 countries. India has relatively few such agreements. Finding a middle ground where our high standards and ambitions are reflected in a way that also benefits India will be key,” an EU representative said.