Rajesh Agrawal: Meet India's chief trade negotiator leading talks with US
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Rajesh Agrawal, India's chief trade negotiator leading talks with US Photograph: (LinkedIn | India's chief trade negotiator leading talks with US)
Rajesh Agrawal, Indian Administrative Service officer, 1994 Manipur batch, Special Secretary in the Department of Commerce, will lead the last round of bilateral trade talks with the US. Know about his education, career and other diplomatic responsibilities.
US-India trade talks resume today on September 16, 2025, in New Delhi. It will be led by Rajesh Agarwal for India and Brendan Lynch for the US. The talks are targeting a November deal. India and the US had already had five rounds of talks with the US. The US is mounting pressure on India, and warned India could lose market share if it does not buy US Corn. Earlier, Trump aide Peter Navarro harshly criticised Indian trade practices, including the purchase of Russian oil and high tariff barriers for the Indian market.
Who is Rajesh Agarwal?
Rajesh Agarwal is an Indian Administrative Service officer, 1994 batch of Manipur Cadre. He is serving as the special secretary in the Department of Commerce, will take over as the next Commerce Secretary after the retirement of Sunil Barthwal on September 30.
"The officer will take over as Secretary, Department of Commerce... vice Shri Sunil Barthwal, IAS (BH:89) upon his superannuation on September 30, 2025," read a government order.
Rajesh Agarwal completed his Bachelor's Degree in Statistics and Master's Degree in Operational Research from Delhi University. He also has an Executive Post-Graduation Diploma in International Business (EPGDIB) from the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT).
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Apart from the bilateral trade talks with the US, Agarwal is also the Chief Negotiator in the review of the free trade agreement in goods with the 10-nation ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) bloc, negotiations for a comprehensive trade pact with Australia and Peru, and the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF).
According to his LinkedIn profile, he worked with the Government of Manipur as Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Power and the Ministry of Home Affairs. He was also the Chief Electoral Officer in Manipur and the Executive Director at the ITPO. He also served as the Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship.
