India is one of the first countries to engage with the US for trade deals, months before Trump even announced "reciprocal tariffs" on April 2. During his visit to Washington, DC, in February, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Trump decided to finalise the first tranche of a bilateral trade agreement (BTA) by September-October this year. However, it was largely anticipated that India and the US would seal an interim deal before the expiry of Trump's 90-day tariff pause deadline on July 8, which was later extended till August 1.