The India-US Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) is a comprehensive trade concept currently under negotiation, not a signed, legally binding treaty. The primary existing mechanism for trade dialogue is the India-US Trade Policy Forum (TPF), an arrangement established in July 2005 to discuss trade and investment issues. The TPF is co-chaired by the Indian Minister of Commerce & Industry and the United States Trade Representative, and it operates through five Focus Groups covering areas like Agriculture, Services, and Investment.
The push for a formal BTA gained momentum recently, with a framework for the first phase finalized in February 2026. This framework outlines key provisions, including the US agreeing to reduce tariffs on Indian exports to 18% and India intending to purchase over $500 billion of US products, such as energy and technology goods, over five years. Both nations also committed to establishing rules of origin to ensure the benefits accrue primarily to them.
A significant change in the bilateral trade landscape occurred when the US terminated India’s designation as a beneficiary of its Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) program on June 5, 2019. The GSP, created by the US Trade Act of 1974, had provided preferential duty-free treatment for thousands of Indian products. The termination, which affected approximately $6.3 billion of Indian exports in 2018, was a major shift that the BTA negotiations are now attempting to address. The signing of the BTA was initially planned for March 2026 but was delayed due to changes in the US tariff architecture following a US Supreme Court ruling on February 20, 2026.