New Delhi: In order to sort out issues involved in the ‘disagreements’ between India and the United States over duties for auto components, steel, pharma and farm goods, among others, the Indian team is expected to further visit Washington soon for trade talks. A delegation of senior officials has been assigned for this crucial visit. Though the visit dates have not yet been finalised, the team is likely to join the US team in a week or two, an official source said on Thursday.
India is among the few other countries that are still negotiating a trade deal with Washington to clinch a ‘favourable’ deal for the country, as President Donald Trump ramps up his trade war with the threat of sharply higher tariffs from August 1. Earlier this month, the Indian team led by chief negotiator Rajesh Agrawal, returned from Washington after concluding talks on the pact. The upcoming visit is quite significant, as the US has further extended the imposition of additional import duties till next month.
However, the source further said an Indian commerce ministry team is working hard to ‘strategically’ deal with the Washington team for another round of talks on a trade pact. “The negotiations will happen on both interim and the first phase of the bilateral trade agreement (BTA) during this visit. India is trying to negotiate and finalise a trade deal with the US before August 1,” the source added.
However, special secretary in the department of commerce Rajesh Agrawal said on Thursday that our aim is to conclude the first phase of this pact by fall (September-October) of this year. “Before that, the two countries are looking to finalise an interim trade agreement. Now we are integrating with major markets. We just concluded an agreement with the UK, we are in an advanced stage of negotiations with the European Union, we are trying to negotiate and finalise a deal with the USA too,” he said in an event here.
Agrawal further said that India’s exports and imports have crossed $1150 billion, so logistics is important. “Logistics will play a key role in increasing India’s share in world trade to 10 per cent in the coming years. Our tariffs will be bilaterally cut. People will be able to make long-term investment decisions based on this predictability of tariff and regulatory landscape. In this, logistics will also be a major determinant. The government is working to reduce logistics costs for industry in India,” he added.
Amidst ongoing trade deal talks, India has proposed retaliatory tariffs against the United States under the World Trade Organisation (WTO) regulations in response to American duties on steel and aluminium, which were imposed as ‘safeguard measures’. The US first imposed 25 per cent tariffs on imports of aluminium, steel and derivative articles on March 12. Again, on June 3, the taxes were hiked to 50 per cent.
“Without prejudice to its earlier notification to the Council for Trade in Goods and the Committee on Safeguards dated May 12, India reserves its right to adjust the products and tariff rates. This request is made in response to the increase in the tariff rate by the United States from 25 per cent ad valorem to 50 per cent,” the WTO said in a communication.
