Focus On Trade Deals: But Who Are The Key Negotiators And How Do Pacts Get Concluded

With the trade talks commencing immediately thereafter, it was expected that the two countries would ink the first phase of a mutually beneficial, multi-sector innovative, wide-ranging Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) by fall of 2025. 

It marked the high point of India-US relations under the Trump 2.0 administration.

That was then.

Ties between the world’s largest democracies soon landed in an abyss.

Impractical Goal

In April 2025, amid imposition and temporary roll back of whopping one-sided tariffs, Trump vowed to sign trade deals with as many as 90 countries in 90 days. 

The impractical goal was not met. 

On the contrary, what Trump could manage was a handful of half-baked deals - less of a deal, more of a framework for talking about a deal- with leaders of developed and developing countries that capitulated to irrational demands of the US.

The case was different for India. New Delhi refused to blink and despite pressure from the US, it decided to protect key sectors including agriculture, dairy and micro, small medium enterprises (MSME)—the backbone of the economy even as the two countries continued negotiations for a trade deal. 

Despite five rounds of bilateral talks and Trump trumpeting that a great deal with India was in the making, no deal happened.

India-US Ties Nosedive 

What followed was rather unexpected. New Delhi-Washington relationship steadily nosedived under Trump 2.0. The US slapped a whopping 50 per cent tariff on Indian exports - 25 per cent “reciprocal tariff” and a “penal tariff” of similar quantum for buying Russian oil and arms. 

The unexpectedly high tariff has pushed India to look for new markets and diversification of export destinations, especially to replace buyers for goods worth US$ 40-50 billion that could have otherwise gone to America. 

But India must start work on three fronts:

1. Bringing in next generation reforms and supporting the affected exporting sectors including making all out efforts to save jobs of employees affected.

2. Expanding the domestic consumption to the fullest of the trade items affected.

3. Fast track negotiations for FTA with other countries to expand both the basket and jurisdiction of exports.

While the above are non-negotiable, the US tariff served as a wake up call for New Delhi. Calls for drastically and expeditiously reducing dependence on the US for its exports got amplified, though the way forward may not be easy.

Understanding And Decoding FTA

For the uninitiated, an FTA is a pact between two or more countries where countries agree either to end or reduce customs duties on the maximum number of goods traded between them. That apart, cutting down non-trade barriers on a significant value of imports from partner countries and easing norms to promote services exports and bilateral investments are also part of the deal. 

Terms like FTA, PTA (preferential trade agreement) or RTA (regional trade agreement) are often used interchangeably to describe these pacts.

Making FTA Happen

While Trump has pushed India to a corner making it imperative for India to fast-track the broadening of its export basket as well as destinations, it needs to be well thought out based on the requirements and dynamics of the Indian economy. Reports suggest India is looking at trade pacts with 50 countries.

The task of negotiating trade deals therefore is complex and often time consuming, and its unsung heroes are civil servants - bureaucrats and diplomats - who painstakingly toil for hundreds of days duly guided by their political readers before the deals are inked. 

Timeframe For Deals Always Uncertain

How many days, months or years does it take from the zero date to finalize, sign and operationalise FTAs? The short answer is - “it depends”.

An analysis by The New York Times based on trade deals signed by the US, suggests it typically took 917 days or roughly two and half years for a trade deal with Washington to go through. Another study by Christoph Moser et al estimated the average trade negotiations timeframe at 28 months. Regional agreements which involve multiple countries take longer.

So, when naysayers in India blame officials for taking years to conclude a deal, think again.

Here are two extreme examples - one, South Korea and Australia negotiated for 14 years before concluding the FTA. Second, Broad-based Bilateral Trade and Investment Agreement (BTIA) negotiations between India and EU that began in 2007, was stalled in 2014 after 15 rounds of talks. Fortunately, it has been relaunched in 2022 and is yet to be concluded.

The Process

Typically, FTAs involve commitment and oversight of the political leaders at the highest level. Also, a host of ministers in charge of various ministries chip in at critical junctures to ensure that the trade pact is beneficial for the country - it should be a win-win deal.

However, the actual negotiation process is led by trade and investment ministries with head of negotiating teams from both sides leading multidisciplinary groups. These groups are responsible for conducting detailed deliberations and iron out thorny issues. That is not all.

Legal implications have to be kept in mind along with the arduous task of writing, rewriting the fine print of the trade agreement spanning multiple chapters with hundreds of pages delving painstakingly into each and every issue.

The main work of thrashing out the trade pact is then carried out by deft and experienced bureaucrats. These officials mostly remain anonymous and are seldom appreciated for their meticulous work.

This is explained with a case study of the most recent FTA India has signed.

The Case Study: India-UK FTA

On July 24, 2025, India and the UK in London signed a groundbreaking FTA, officially called the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA). The agreement was inked by Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and Jonathan Reynolds, UK’s Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury.

The agreement signed in the presence of PM Modi and UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer aims to more than double the bilateral trade from US$56 billion in the financial year 2025 to US$ 120 billion by 2030.

Modi described the deal as a “historic milestone”. Starmer described it as the “biggest and most economically significant bilateral deal the UK has done since leaving the EU.”

The Marathon

The India-UK trade negotiations were nothing less than a marathon run. It took 15 rounds of talk in a span of 40 months to clinch the deal. The negotiations were jointly kicked off in 2022 by Goyal and then UK Secretary of State for International Trade Anne‑Marie Trevelyan. 

For the UK, negotiations spanned under the tenure of four Prime Ministers - Boris Johnson, Liz Truss, Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer. Luckily for India, the leadership remained unchanged - something that helps in maintaining continuity.

Why Is This? 

Under former British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, trade negotiators had almost clinched the deal, but it was put on hold after the announcement of the election in the UK. The statesmanship of two sides prevented the deal from getting further delayed or altogether derailed. Luckily, Reynolds and Goyal decided not to open the chapters that had been agreed upon under the previous regime.

What Is The Role Of Civil Servants In This Process

Though Goyal and Reynolds were the signatories to the deal - comprising 26 chapters spread over 1000 pages, it was driven, negotiated, written and rewritten by bureaucrats, trade, finance and legal experts of the two countries. The countries' respective missions too play a significant role.

Let us take a peek into the key negotiators from both sides, who burnt the midnight oil and worked tirelessly to conclude the negotiations.

It is difficult to pinpoint every individual and the specific role played by them. 

Key Negotiators

1. Ownership: From the start and commencement of trade negotiations to conclusion and operationalisation of FTA - all require ownership at the head of the political level. With Modi’s term extending from the start of negotiations to the end, it was a smooth affair for India. But in case of the UK, which had four Prime Ministers during the period, there were some delays and hiccups.

2. Oversight: Political oversight is another key element for trade negotiations to succeed. The political oversight from the UK side during negotiations shifted from Anne‑Marie Trevelyan to Kemi Badenoch and, later, Reynolds. 

On Indian side, it was Goyal. But direct engagement, technical inputs, and advanced FTA chapters linked to their respective ministries, ensuring multi-sectoral representation came from Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, Law and Justice Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal and Minister of State for Electronics & IT Rajeev Chandrashekhar, among others. 

3. Coordination: Trade negotiations are complex. They require interdepartmental coordination of various ministries and departments. The Indian High Commission in London and India’s Ambassador were partners in the coordination with UK authorities. Same was the case with the UK.

4. Chief Trade Negotiators: When the first round of the trade talks commenced on January 17, 2022, following officials were appointed the leader of the multidisciplinary negotiation teams:

India: Nidhi Mani Tripathi, Joint Secretary Department of Commerce 

United Kingdom: Harjinder Kang Director of India Negotiations at the Department of International Trade

Both the chief negotiators continued to lead multiple rounds of talks. Tripathi continued to be Chief Trade Negotiator for India even after she was appointed the Minister (Economic) at the High Commission of India in London, UK on May 30, 2023. Kang was replaced as UK Chief Negotiator by Kate Thornley, previously UK Deputy Chief Negotiator but Kang continued to play important role.

5. Supporting Negotiation Teams: Both sides relied heavily on technical experts from ministries (commerce finance, home, external affairs,legal), revenue departments, legal advisers, and economic service professionals to draft and vet the treaty text, resolve regulatory issues, and advise on sectoral concessions. Official spokespeople and attached legal, economic, and sectoral advisers also helped with outreach and mediation between stakeholders as the negotiations progressed.

6. Friction Removers: Trade negotiations between the two sides often got stuck and needed senior level interventions. The task on the Indian side was ably led by commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal and Satya Srinivas Special Secretary ministry of commerce. They led to crucial rounds of discussions towards the end and were also responsible for inter ministerial coordination. 

During the tariff negotiation rounds in London and Delhi apart from the chief trade negotiator and other team members Barthwal, Commerce Secretary played a crucial role including leading the key rounds negotiation rounds. 

Key coordination role was also played by External Affairs Ministry led by Vikram Misri, Foreign Secretary and Vikram Doraiswamy, Indian Embassy to the UK. 

The high commission officials also supported negotiation efforts through diplomatic facilitation and coordination on the ground. While the Commerce Ministry delegation led the technical tariff talks, the High Commission played a vital role in engagement and logistical support during the negotiations

Not Yet Over 

The India-UK FTA, comprising more than 1000 pages enshrined in 26 chapters, is expected to take 15 months for operationalisation - this includes around 3 months for the legal scrubbing of the finalized text, followed by up to a year for ratification by the UK Parliament.

In India, the agreement requires approval from the Union Cabinet. This was cleared on July 22, 2025. In the UK, the FTA must pass through parliamentary ratification. Once implemented, the agreement is anticipated to enhance bilateral trade, streamline market access, and support investment flows between the two nations.

Future Course

And now the focus is on Rajesh Agarwal, Special Secretary, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, who is leading negotiations for much talked about India-US trade deal. Agarwal who was appointed Additional Secretary in April to lead talks will take over as Secretary in October, replacing Sunil Barthwal after he retires.

New Delhi has so far signed 16 FTAs. But few of them are not yet operational. India now aims to conclude an FTA with the EU and is looking to negotiate trade pacts with 50 more countries. It augurs well. 

(The writer is a former civil servant. Views are personal)