Negotiations on the long-awaited bilateral trade agreement between India and the United States have entered the final phase, with only a handful of technical and legal issues yet to be resolved, according to US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor.
Gor said 99 percent of the agreement had already been finalised and negotiators from both countries were working to bridge the remaining gap during talks being held in New Delhi this week.
Trade officials from the two countries are currently engaged in discussions in Delhi, following a round of talks in Washington last week. A meeting between the visiting US delegation and Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal is scheduled for Thursday.
Gor expressed confidence that the remaining issues would be settled soon, describing them largely as matters related to implementation timelines and legal wording rather than major policy differences.
The ambassador acknowledged that the negotiations had been challenging and noted that successful trade agreements require compromises from both sides and described the proposed pact as a potential win-win arrangement.
Rejecting criticism over the time taken to reach an agreement, Gor pointed out that India's trade deal negotiations with the European Union had stretched for nearly two decades before reaching a conclusion.
Highlighting the growing economic relationship between the two countries, Gor said bilateral merchandise and services trade had expanded from about $20 billion to $220 billion over the past 20 years. He said the partnership was increasingly being driven by technology, innovation and other high-value sectors.
The envoy described the US-India relationship as one of the most significant strategic partnerships globally and said both governments were committed to strengthening economic and technological cooperation.
Gor also highlighted major investment commitments announced by leading American companies in India:
Amazon plans to invest $35 billion in India by 2030.
Microsoft has announced investments worth $17.5 billion, including hyperscale cloud infrastructure projects.
Google has unveiled plans for a $15 billion artificial intelligence hub in the country.
