India, Oct. 16 -- The first phase of the proposed India-US bilateral trade agreement has been finalised and is undergoing legal drafting, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said on Thursday, signalling progress in negotiations between the two countries.

Addressing the SRCC Centenary Conclave in Delhi, Goyal said the first tranche of the agreement had been finalised and was now going through the final stages of legal drafting.

"We hope to be able to finalise that soon and operationalise that once we get comparable advantage or competitive advantage over our peer countries," Goyal said.

Trade negotiations moving in the right direction

Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal also struck an optimistic note, saying negotiations on the proposed trade...