US chief negotiator in India on September 16 to discuss 'trade issues', says commerce ministry official

India's good exports for August came in at $35.10 billion while imports were to the tune of $61.59 billion.

Brendan Lynch, a trade negotiator with the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) will be arriving for a day to talk about 'trade issues' between Washington and New Delhi on September 16.

Special Secretary Rajesh Agarwal clarified that that the one-day visit is not the sixth round of trade negotiations between India and the US but only a meeting to 'discuss' trade issues.

"Only trade-related issues will be discussed, non-trade issues will not be discussed," Agarwal said on September 15.

The two nations opened talks for a Bilateral Trade Agreement in March and have conducted five rounds of negotiations, with the last one held in July in the US.

But, following Trump's decision to double tariffs on India, the next round of trade talks slated for August 25-29 in New Delhi, was deferred.

Given this, Lynch's visit, who is the Assistant US Trade Representative for South and Central Asia, is crucial.

Lynch has previously been USTR’s Director for India and has served in the agency’s Office of Agricultural Affairs, promoting US agricultural trade interests at various international fora.

Agarwal added that India and the US have been in talks weekly and the meeting on September 16 will decide the future course of action around the proposed trade deal.

India's good exports for August came in at $35.10 billion while imports were to the tune of $61.59 billion. The trade deficit narrowed in August at a time when Indian exporters are reeling under US President Trump’s punitive 50 percent tariffs, potentially hurting labour-intensive sectors such as textiles and gems & jewellery. This is the first monthly reading of the trade data after Trump's tariffs on Indian exports, in an attempt to put pressure on India for buying Russian oil, putting New Delhi's export at a disadvantage to other Asian peers like Vietnam and Bangladesh.

"Despite global and trade policy uncertainties, Indian exporters have done well. It shows that government's policy has paid off, said Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal.

Indo-US relations have seen some improvement in recent days with Trump and Prime Minister Modi agreeing to resume trade talks. Trump called Prime Minister Modi a “dear friend” and talked optimistically about the trade momentum. Modi, in turn, reaffirmed India and US as “close friends and natural partners” and expressed confidence that current trade talks would unlock significant potential for both nations. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman too confirmed that New Delhi’s diplomatic team is deeply engaged in ongoing negotiations.

In another post on Truth Social, Trump had said, “I am pleased to announce that India, and the United States of America, are continuing negotiations to address the Trade Barriers between our two Nations."

Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal also said that the next round talks for a trade agreement with the European Union will be held in Brussels from October 6-10, and is being pursued with a heightened urgency.

Barthwal added that the government is working to reduce dependence on certain geographies to limit the impact of supply chain disruptions.