New Delhi [India], October 15 (ANI): The first tranche of the India-US Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) has been finalised and is currently undergoing legal drafting and final review, said Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal.

Speaking at the inauguration of Shri Ram College of Commerce's (SRCC) Centenary Conclave, Goyal expressed hope that the agreement would be operationalised soon, once India secures a competitive advantage over its peer countries.

"US bilateral trade agreement first tranche has been finalised. It's going through the final contours, the legal drafting, and we hope to be able to finalize that soon and operationalize that once we get comparable advantage or competitive advantage over our peer countries," he said. 

India's merchandise exports to the United States grew 11.1 per cent to USD 50.81 billion during April-September 2026, compared with USD 45.73 billion in the same period last year, despite tariff-related uncertainties, according to data released by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry on Thursday.

Meanwhile, imports from the US surged 26 per cent to USD 32.33 billion from USD 25.66 billion a year earlier, narrowing India's merchandise trade surplus with the US to USD 18.48 billion from USD 20.07 billion.

Despite tariff-related challenges, bilateral merchandise trade continued to expand, while Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal said negotiations on the proposed India-US trade agreement were progressing in the right direction, with both sides working towards an early conclusion.

'The negotiations are in the right direction. Probably, we are in a very good zone. We anticipate closing the deal and signing it at the earliest possible time,' Agrawal said.

Apart from this, he also emphasised that India was seeking preferential access to the American market to ensure its exporters could compete effectively with other countries.

'When you do a trade deal, it gives you not only market access in each other's markets; it gives you preferential market access in a particular market,' he said.

Notably, US remained India's largest merchandise export destination during the first half of the current financial year. (ANI)