Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal will join the Indian delegation in the U.S. tomorrow for trade talks, with India indicating its readiness to step up energy imports from America.
In the past 7-8 years, energy purchases from the U.S., largely crude oil, have come down from $25 billion to around $12-13 billion.
Also Read: Mixed signals: On India-U.S. talks
“So, there is a headroom of around $12-15 billion, which we can purchase without worrying about the configuration of refineries,” Mr. Agrawal told reporters in New Delhi.
“And there is a bilateral commitment, and in discussions we are in, we have indicated very positively that India as a country would like to diversify its portfolio as far as energy imports are concerned. That’s the best strategy for a big buyer like India.”
These remarks are important as purchasing more crude oil from the U.S. will address Washington’s concerns on the merchandise trade deficit with India, which stood at $45.8 billion in 2024-25.
“As a country, we will be very happy to buy more energy from the U.S., subject to…availability at the right price,” Mr. Agrawal said.
The Indian negotiating team is already in Washington for trade talks, and Mr. Agrawal will join them tomorrow.
“Our negotiating team is already in the U.S., and (they are) trying to see if we can have a win-win solution between the two sides, which can address some of these tariff issues,” he said.
When asked if this is a formal round of negotiations, the secretary said the U.S. is in shutdown, and because of that, their manpower strength is down as they are not working.
“So, that’s not the right time to have a full-fledged negotiation. Having said that, there is a movement on both sides where we are trying to see if there is a pathway to address the current trade challenges. Both sides are discussing to see if there are any answers,” he added.
In February this year, leaders of the two countries directed officials to negotiate a proposed Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA). They have fixed a deadline to conclude the first tranche of the pact by the fall (October-November) of 2025.
So far, five rounds of negotiations have been completed.
Last month, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal led an official delegation to New York for trade talks.
These deliberations are important as the relations between the two countries have been reeling under severe stress after U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration imposed a steep 50% tariff on Indian goods. It includes a 25% additional import duty for buying Russian crude oil.
India has described these duties as “unfair, unjustified and unreasonable”.
The Indian industry has also raised concerns over Mr. Trump’s new policy on H1B visas.
However, the recent phone conversations between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Mr. Trump have raised hopes for a positive outcome from the ongoing negotiations for the trade deal.
After a brief gap, Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for South and Central Asia Brendan Lynch held talks with Indian officials here in New Delhi on September 16. In that meeting, both sides agreed to push for an early and mutually beneficial conclusion of the agreement.
Last week, U.S. Ambassador-designate to India Sergio Gor held talks with the Commerce Secretary on India-U.S. economic ties.
The proposed pact aims to more than double the bilateral trade to $500 billion by 2030 from the current $191 billion.
The U.S. remained India’s largest trading partner for the fourth consecutive year in 2024-25, with bilateral trade valued at $131.84 billion ($86.5 billion exports).
It accounts for about 18% of India’s total goods exports, 6.22% in imports, and 10.73% in the country’s total merchandise trade.
Published – October 15, 2025 07:53 pm IST
