Kumar Bahukhandi
US Trade Representative, Jamieson Greer — Screengrab/X
India and the US teams have concluded the fifth round of talks so far for the agreement last week in Washington.: Reports
New Delhi : With the interim-deal before the August-1 deadline looks dim, the US team is expected to visit India on August 25 for the next round of negotiations for the proposed bilateral trade agreement between the two countries.
The US delegation is likely to initiate the sixth round of talks with the Indian team here, an official source said on Tuesday. India and the US teams have concluded the fifth round of talks so far for the agreement last week in Washington. It is also learnt that both the sides remain engaged to iron out differences for an interim trade deal before August 1, which marks the end of the suspension period of tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump on dozens of countries, including India (26 per cent).
As per the US Trade Representative, Jamieson Greer, who told a leading business channel on Monday evening that the prospects for an interim-deal may look dim and more negotiations will be needed with India on a trade pact. However, officials are not ruling out a possibility of a last-minute breakthrough. “We continue to speak with our Indian counterparts, we’ve always had very constructive discussions with them,” Greer had said.
India’s chief negotiator and special secretary in the department of commerce Rajesh Agrawal and Assistant US Trade Representative for South and Central Asia Brendan Lynch held the deliberations. These deliberations are important as both sides are looking at finalising an interim trade deal before August 1.
As far as the prospects of the US-India deal is concerned, both the nations are looking for an interim trade pact. India is seeking the removal of this additional tariff (26 per cent) and the easing of tariffs on steel and aluminium (50 per cent) and the auto sector (25 per cent). Against these, India has reserved its right under the World Trade Organisation norms to impose retaliatory duties.
On the other hand, the US wants duty concessions on certain industrial goods, automobiles, especially electric vehicles, wines, petrochemical products, agri goods, dairy items, apples, tree nuts, and genetically modified crops. The two countries are looking to conclude talks for the first tranche of the proposed bilateral trade agreement (BTA) by fall (September-October) this year.
