India aims to boost bilateral trade with US to $500 billion by 2030, talks on FTA on: Govt official

India is looking to increase bilateral trade with the United States from the present $200 billion to $500 billion by 2030, according to a top government official. 

The Indian government is also working on a bilateral trade agreement with US and is proactively engaging with the US in trade, the official said, adding that negotiations are on over free trade agreement (FTA).  

The government is also engaged in consultations with aluminium exporters with regards to recent tariffs imposed by the Trump administration. 

Last month, Trump raised tariffs on imports of steel and aluminium to a flat 25%, without exemptions or exceptions, in a move that was designed to help US industry while contributing to an escalating trade war.  

Regarding the hype surrounding Elon Musk’s Tesla starting its operations in the country the official said the US EV maker hasn’t shown interest in manufacturing in India so far. 

“India is a very open economy and is engaging bilaterally and multilaterally with many players. Visit by negotiating team to Brussels happened some months back,” said the official highlighting that teams from European Union (EU), United Kingdom (UK) already came to the country to hold FTA talks. 

Speaking about exporters feeling the heat due to the ongoing uncertainty due US tariff policies, the official said that the government will help exporters when the need arises.