NEW DELHI: India will announce the final details of its proposed Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) with the United States only after Washington agrees to provide preferential tariff terms compared with competing nations, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Thursday.

Speaking at a national workshop on the Leveraging FTAs Outreach program, Goyal explained India's stance on the timing of the deal. " As soon as the US is able to give us the preferential rate in comparison to our competition, we will finalise the BTA and announce the final details," Goyal stated, as reported by news agency ANI.

Negotiations for the India-US Bilateral Trade Agreement have centered on three main goals:

Expanding market access Reducing existing trade barriers Deepening bilateral economic ties In July, a senior US official stated that the agreement's text was effectively finalised and could be signed within three to four months. The official characterized the delay as procedural rather than based on unresolved differences, noting the pact was already "on paper" while citing ongoing US Section 301 trade investigations as the primary remaining hurdle.

India remains focused on securing tariff terms that grant its domestic exporters a distinct comparative advantage over rival global markets.