New Delhi: India is continuing talks with the United States to finalise the first tranche of a bilateral trade deal, and US officials visited the country earlier this month for discussions, an Indian official told reporters on Tuesday, according to Reuters.

Source: Reuters, Nov 10, 2026

The discussions earlier this month centred on customs and trade facilitation issues, the official added. A two-member US team on customs and trade facilitation was in New Delhi on November 2–3 to take forward the technical part of the negotiations, The Hindu BusinessLine reported, citing a person tracking the matter.

Source: The Hindu BusinessLine, Nov 10, 2026

Government sources quoted by ANI said the November 2–3 dialogue with Commerce Ministry officials focused on streamlining customs procedures, removing non-tariff administrative bottlenecks and advancing trade facilitation frameworks between the two economies.

No date, no tariff number yet

The update carries no tariff figure and no signing date, and the official gave no timeline for closing the tranche, Reuters reported. BusinessLine said technical discussions on the proposed pact were expected to continue irrespective of the Republican Party's loss in the November 3 US midterm elections, although there was no clarity on the future course of the trade deal.

India and the US have been negotiating the Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA), with differences over tariff levels and access to India's agricultural and dairy markets continuing to hold up an interim agreement, BusinessLine reported. The BTA negotiations were launched in February 2025 following discussions between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump.

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on October 26 that the two countries had completed most of their discussions on the proposed agreement and were working on the remaining details, according to the ANI report. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio had said during his October 20 Mumbai visit that the two sides were very close to finalising the proposed trade agreement, with only a few issues remaining.

What happens next

The next confirmed step is a further round of talks; no date for that round was announced on Tuesday. Until a text is signed, existing customs duties and market-access rules remain unchanged.