Trade talks between India and the US are “progressing well” and the two sides are “converging” on most issues, commerce secretary Rajesh Agrawal said on Friday, hinting that a mutually beneficial deal is imminent.
A man holds the flags of India and the US flag in New York. (Reuters)
“I think we are very close,” Agrawal said, referring to the Bilateral Trade Agreement proposed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Donald Trump on February 13. However, he did not provide specific details about the negotiations, including expected timelines.
According to the February 13 joint statement, the first tranche of the proposed BTA was expected to be concluded by the fall, which runs from September through November in the US.
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A government official with direct knowledge of the matter said trade negotiators from both sides are in regular touch to iron out issues pertaining to non-tariff barriers and are currently sorting out the language of the draft agreement.
“The two sides are continuously deliberating through virtual mode,” the official said, adding that there are “no new issues” to pose any hurdle in the negotiations. The official spoke on condition of anonymity.
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Experts tracking the development said prospects of a deal have been strengthened now that Indian refiners have decided to reduce or stop Russian crude oil purchases following the sanctions slapped by Washington on Russia’s Rosneft and Lukoil.
Both economies are complementary and are natural trade partners requiring each other for a reliable and robust supply chain, they said, requesting anonymity.
Commerce minister Piyush Goyal said on Friday that India is in active dialogue with the European Union and the US separately for bilateral trade deals, but declined to give any deadline for concluding them.
“We are in active dialogue with the EU. We are talking to the US, but we do not do deals in a hurry and we do not do deals with deadlines or with a gun to our head,” Goyal told the Berlin Global Dialogue in Germany, according to PTI.
Goyal was in Berlin to participate in the dialogue, a meeting of leaders and German businesses to discuss ways to boost bilateral trade and investments.
Agrawal, who remains the chief negotiator for the trade deal with the US, concluded two days of discussions with American officials in mid-October in what was described as a cordial atmosphere that created pathways for constructive and mutually beneficial bilateral trade talks.
The commerce secretary travelled to Washington on October 15 to join the Indian delegation for trade talks and returned on October 19.
According to the official cited earlier, both sides remain engaged on the proposed bilateral trade agreement, with India committed to a mutually beneficial accord that also protects the country’s farmers, fishermen and micro, small and medium enterprises.
The India-US talks were disrupted after the fifth round of negotiations in late August when Trump imposed a 25% punitive levy over Russian oil purchases, in addition to a 25% reciprocal tariff on Indian goods. The 50% combined tariff made most Indian goods unviable in the US market.
New Delhi labelled these additional duties as “unfair, unjustified and unreasonable,” though both sides have maintained diplomatic engagement aimed at resolving the dispute.