Hopes on to conclude trade pact with U.S. this year: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman aims to finalize a trade pact with the U.S. by autumn, boosting economic ties.

Hopes are on to "positively conclude" the first part of a trade pact with the United States by this autumn, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Monday (April 21, 2025) as she started on a trip packed with engagements between the two nations.

"The long and short of engaging with the U.S. is not just for this reciprocal tariff related matter, but in the interest of... our largest trading partner with whom we need to have an agreement," Ms. Sitharaman said in an address to the Indian diaspora in San Francisco.

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“Ms. Sitharaman is on a five-day trip to the United States, where she will join the spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, and the meeting of G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank governors,” according to a government statement.

She is also scheduled to meet the U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and is expected to speak to officials at the United States Trade Representative's office.

Her visit comes in a week of multiple engagements between the two countries that will focus on trade, as the Union Government wants to avoid steep U.S. tariffs with an early trade deal and boost ties with the Donald Trump administration.

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