India and U.S. making 'progress' on trade deal after 'successful' discussions, official says

Indian and U.S. officials are making progress on hatching a bilateral trade agreement after a series of negotiations in New Delhi, which commenced on Saturday.

The talks involved India's commerce ministry and a U.S. trade delegation led by Brendan Lynch, assistant U.S. trade representative for South and Central Asia.

"The successful conclusion of the discussions reflects progress in efforts to expand India-U.S. bilateral trade and investment relations to promote prosperity, security and innovation in both countries," India's commerce ministry said.

Reuters reported that a possible reduction of tariffs and relaxing non-tariff barriers were on the agenda.

"Sectoral expert-level engagements under the BTA [Bilateral Trade Agreement] will start virtually in the coming weeks and pave the path for an early negotiating round in person," the commerce ministry said.