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India-US trade talks: Tariff settlement between India and America is expected soon. India’s talks with America on the proposed bilateral trade agreement are progressing.
India-US trade talks: Tariff settlement between India and America is expected soon. India’s talks with America on the proposed bilateral trade agreement are progressing. Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Wednesday that talks with America on the proposed bilateral trade agreement are progressing. He told that the American team is in New Delhi for talks. Goyal said in Jaipur on Pravasi Rajasthani Day that talks with America are progressing continuously. We are moving towards a bilateral trade agreement. He indicated that he may meet the visiting American official team. A delegation led by US Deputy Trade Representative (USTR) Rick Switzer is in the national capital Delhi for two-day trade talks with his Indian counterpart Rajesh Agarwal.
Second visit of American officials to India
US chief negotiator for the agreement Brendan Lynch, assistant US trade representative for South and Central Asia, will discuss with India’s chief negotiator and Darpan Jain, joint secretary in the Department of Commerce. This visit is important as India and America are working to finalize the first tranche of the agreement. This is the second visit of US officials to India after 25 percent tariff and additional 25 percent penalty was imposed on Indian goods entering the US market due to purchase of Russian crude oil. American officials last visited India on September 16. On September 22, Commerce and Industry Minister Goyal also visited America leading an official delegation for trade talks. He also visited Washington in May.
Commerce Secretary expressed hope
The talks are also important because Commerce Secretary Rajesh Aggarwal had recently said that India hopes to reach a policy trade agreement this year itself, which can resolve the tariff issue for the benefit of Indian exporters. Noting that a bilateral trade agreement (BTA) will take time, Agarwal said India is engaged in long negotiations with the US on a policy trade agreement that will address the reciprocal tariff challenge faced by Indian exporters. The Commerce and Industry Minister said that India and the US are holding two parallel negotiations – one on a policy trade agreement to deal with tariffs and the other on a comprehensive trade agreement. In February, the leaders of both countries had instructed officials to negotiate an agreement.
Six rounds of talks completed so far
The plan was to complete the first phase of the agreement by 2025. So far six rounds of talks have taken place. The objective of this agreement is to increase bilateral trade from the current US $ 191 billion to more than US $ 500 billion by 2030. The US remained India’s largest trading partner for the fourth consecutive year in 2024-25, with bilateral trade value of US$ 131.84 billion (US$ 86.5 billion in exports). America’s share in India’s total merchandise exports is about 18 percent, 6.22 percent in imports and 10.73 percent in total merchandise trade. According to exporters, the agreement assumes significance as India’s merchandise exports to the US declined by 8.58 per cent to US$6.3 billion in October for the second consecutive month due to heavy tariffs imposed by Washington.
