India, June 24 -- At long last, India and the US can taste the sweet elixir of success on a trade deal, being on the verge of concluding an "interim agreement" that promises to set a stable course on tariffs for the near future as they move to the broader ambition of negotiations on a comprehensive bilateral trade agreement (BTA). It has been a long journey over a short period of time with plenty of ups and downs, but the negotiations are now in the endgame.

After the last round of negotiations in India two weeks ago, it appears the two sides have largely concluded outcomes on the substance of a deal - as US ambassador to India Sergio Gor and commerce minister Piyush Goyal have phrased it, 99% is now complete even if trade negotiations a...