India and the US are in constructive negotiations to secure a fair and advantageous trade deal, a spokesperson for the foreign ministry stated on Thursday.The remarks followed a three-day trip to Washington for discussions with the US counterparts by an Indian trade group headed by senior Commerce Ministry official Darpan Jain.At a weekly media briefing, spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal informed reporters that these discussions are continuous and beneficial. In order to reach a USD 500 billion trade target by 2030, both sides are striving for a fair, advantageous, and ambitious trade deal that takes into consideration each other’s priorities and concerns.That target ​would be more than double bilateral goods and services trade of about USD 212 billion in ​2024.Despite the uncertainties surrounding the US tariff policy, the negotiations are part of a larger push by Washington and New Delhi to reach a trade agreement.Earlier in the day, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer had said that India is a “tough nut to crack” in Washington, as the delegation from New Delhi concluded talks on the bilateral trade agreement with the US.On Wednesday, the three-day negotiations came to an end.“India is a tough nut to crack… they’ve protected their agricultural markets for a very long time,” Greer told Committee on Ways and Means of the US Congress.“As part of this deal, they want to protect a lot of that. There are things, though, where I think we can find mutual agreement. DDGs (distillers dried grains) is a good example of this,” he added.Greer was answering questions from senators regarding the exports of DDGs, which are used to manufacture ethanol, soybean meal, and high-protein animal feed.According to Greer, the US negotiators were talking with their Indian counterparts on certain topics like DDGs.“Indian trade negotiators are in town this week. So we’ve been talking this week about these issues, including these specific commodities you talked about, DDGs,” Greer said.On February 2, India and the US displayed the framework of their bilateral trade agreement; on February 7, the deal’s text was made public.As part of the deal, India asks for preferential access to the US markets as the two nations aim to reach USD 500 billion in bilateral commerce by 2030.