New Delhi, Feb. 5 -- Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal announced on Thursday that the first tranche of the bilateral trade agreement between India and the United States is now ready, with a joint statement expected to be issued within the next four to five days. A formal legal agreement on the trade deal is expected to be signed around mid-March, he said.

Goyal said that after the joint statement is released, the US is expected to issue an executive order to reduce tariffs to 18 per cent.

The Union Minister said this today during the signing ceremony of the Terms of Reference (ToR) for a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between India and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). Highlighting the scale of the upcoming engagement w...