Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Friday that an India-US trade deal should be concluded as soon as possible, citing the broader health of global commerce and the bilateral economic relationship. She noted that the Commerce Minister had similarly expressed an expectation that a formal signing would come in the near term, and said both countries stood to benefit from the agreement's conclusion.

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal told reporters on Thursday that the opening phase of a bilateral trade agreement between India and the United States had been concluded and that lawyers were working through the formal language.

Addressing the Atlantic Council during sessions on the sidelines of the IMF-World Bank annual meetings in Bangkok, Sitharaman noted that years of engagement with China had produced little progress on market access for goods including generic medicines, bovine meat, vegetables, and other perishables. She attributed the stalled progress primarily to non-tariff barriers, including phytosanitary measures, which she described as the principal obstacle in bilateral trade with China, even as avenues for dialogue and investigation to address such restrictions remained available.

Sitharaman pointed to an expanding gap in bilateral trade flows and the continued difficulty Indian exporters face in gaining entry to Chinese markets as issues that had persisted through extended rounds of dialogue with Beijing. She explained that bilateral negotiations remained the preferred path for addressing trade imbalances, with India having chosen not to levy punitive tariffs against partners despite the drawn-out nature of that diplomatic route.

Addressing the BRICS grouping, Sitharaman described the forum as one oriented toward the collective wellbeing of member populations rather than any adversarial purpose, adding that she did not believe the bloc held any intention of positioning itself against other nations or groupings. Her remarks framed the objective as one of deepening ties through the BRICS framework.

Pointing out that BRICS nations account for close to 40 per cent of the global population, she put forward the view that deeper ties between member states stood to strengthen trade flows, broaden economic openings, and build greater understanding across borders. Membership growth had brought the total of nations in active dialogue with one another to between 11 and 12, a bloc whose combined share of worldwide commerce stood at roughly 45 per cent.

Sitharaman pointed to India's economic track record, noting that output had held up through a period of worldwide turbulence and that, measured against other large economies, growth rates had ranked at the top for roughly four to five years running, a stretch that took in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. Broadened access to resources, skill-building for younger generations, disciplined public finances, and higher government investment in capital projects were among the factors she cited when explaining the country's economic results.

Channelling funds toward infrastructure, Sitharaman argued, produces a broader economic return than distributing the same sums directly to households, while simultaneously driving employment and sustaining wider commercial activity. She contended that government-directed investment in roads, bridges, and other built assets distributed earnings across the workforce through commercial activity, placing a lighter burden on the public accounts than several other spending routes.

Sitharaman contended that government borrowing tracks broadly with infrastructure outlays and that asset creation funded through debt has delivered wider economic gains. "Borrowing goes for asset creation, and as a result, the economy has benefited," she said.