The United States delegation is set to arrive in India on August 25 for the next round of negotiations concerning the proposed bilateral trade agreement between the two nations. This upcoming visit marks the sixth round of talks aimed at advancing the discussions on the trade pact.
These negotiations come as both sides strive to finalise an interim trade deal before the deadline of August 1, which marks the end of the suspension period for tariffs imposed by the previous US administration.
The previous round of talks took place in Washington, where India’s chief negotiator Rajesh Agrawal and Brendan Lynch, the Assistant US Trade Representative for South and Central Asia, engaged in detailed discussions. As the deadline nears, both countries are keen on resolving issues related to tariffs and duty concessions.
India has expressed a strong stance against providing duty concessions on agricultural and dairy products, which the US has been actively seeking. This position is reinforced by domestic farmers’ associations, which have urged the government to exclude agriculture-related issues from the trade agreement.
From India’s perspective, the removal of an additional 26 per cent tariff, along with easing tariffs on steel, aluminium, and the automobile sector, remains a priority. These issues are central to the ongoing trade pact discussions and are being negotiated alongside potential retaliatory duties under World Trade Organization norms.
The US is pursuing duty concessions on a range of industrial goods, with a focus on electric vehicles, wines, and petrochemical products. The discussions also include agricultural goods, dairy items, and genetically modified crops.
As both countries aim to conclude the first tranche of the trade agreement by September-October this year, they are also evaluating the potential for an interim trade pact. Meanwhile, India’s merchandise exports to the US have seen a significant rise, up by 22.8 per cent to USD 25.51 billion in the April-June quarter, indicating a robust trade relationship.
(With PTI inputs)
