New Delhi

Senior officials from India and the United States will begin a three-day meeting in the US from February 23 to finalise the legal text of an interim trade agreement, an official said on Friday.

Earlier this month, the two countries issued a joint statement announcing that the framework for the interim trade pact had been finalised. The framework outlines the broad contours of the agreement, which now need to be translated into a binding legal document.

“The contours of the deal have been agreed upon. These will now be converted into a legal agreement that will be signed by both sides,” the official said, adding that the pact is expected to be signed in March.

The Indian delegation for the talks will be led by Darpan Jain, the chief negotiator and a joint secretary in the Commerce Ministry.

Under the proposed interim trade agreement, both sides will extend duty concessions on a range of goods traded between India and the US. As part of the arrangement, Washington has announced that it will reduce reciprocal tariffs on Indian goods from 25 per cent to 18 per cent.

The US has also already withdrawn the 25 per cent punitive tariffs imposed earlier on India over its purchase of Russian crude oil, providing further momentum to the trade negotiations.

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The upcoming meeting is seen as a key step towards strengthening bilateral trade ties and paving the way for a broader trade agreement in the future.