India-US Strategic and Economic Partnership

India-US relations underwent a paradigm shift after the Civil Nuclear Agreement (also called the 123 Agreement) signed in 2008, which brought India into the global nuclear mainstream and deepened strategic ties. Since then, bilateral relations have expanded across defence (India is a Major Defence Partner, with LEMOA, COMCASA, BECA foundational agreements signed), technology (Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology — iCET, 2023), space, and trade. Trade relations have been periodically strained over tariff disputes — the US under Trump (first term) removed India from the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) in 2019, and India retaliated with higher tariffs on US goods. The current BTA represents the most ambitious bilateral trade framework between the two countries, transcending previous partial arrangements.