New Delhi, Sept. 3 -- Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Thursday said India will announce the final details of its Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) with the US once Washington offers Indian exporters preferential tariff rates compared with those available to competing countries.

Speaking at a national workshop on leveraging free trade agreements (FTAs), Goyal said tariff levels must be assessed against those faced by competitors rather than in isolation. Countries such as Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Indonesia and Malaysia compete with India in the US market.

"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," he said.

India and the US had announced in February that they had finalised the framework for the first phase of the agreement. However, changes in US tariffs have led to further negotiations. The US imposed an additional 10 per cent tariff on several countries, including India, from July 24.

Goyal is scheduled to travel to the US in late September for the G20 Trade Ministerial in Milwaukee, where he will hold bilateral discussions with US Trade reer. The two-day meeting begins September 30, with the US holding the 2026 G20 presidency.

India exported goods worth about USD 87 billion to the US in 2025-26.

Goyal said India's nine FTAs, covering economies accounting for about USD 60 trillion in GDP, would provide preferential access to nearly two-thirds of global trade. Agreements expected with Canada, Mexico, Chile, Mercosur, SACU, GCC and Israel, along with reviews of pacts with ASEAN, South Korea and Japan, could take India's preferential access to 75 per cent of global trade in the coming years.

India already has operational trade agreements with the UK, Mauritius, Oman, UAE and Australia. A pact with New Zealand is expected to become operational soon, followed by the agreement with the 27-nation European Union.

Goyal also set a USD 1 trillion export target for the current year. Exports during April-July stood at about USD 317 billion, up from USD 280 billion in the same period last year. He said India should aim for USD 2 trillion in exports by 2030.

He called for greater use of FTAs, particularly by MSMEs and first-time exporters. States were asked to identify products and clusters where trade agreements were either delivering gains or remained underused.

Goyal said exporters would receive priority support in the proposed 100 BHAVYA industrial parks, including concessions for those committing to higher levels of exports and access to plug-and-play facilities.

Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agarwal said exporters must act within the current window before competing countries secure similar advantages. "If we miss the time window, then maybe we will miss the opportunity," he said.

Agarwal said India trades in about 12,300 tariff lines and most are affected by existing trade agreements. He also pointed to higher quality requirements in markets such as the EU and UK, urging businesses to use the next five to 10 years to build supply chains capable of meeting those standards.

Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.