Top trade negotiators from India and the United States will hold four days of discussions in New Delhi from Monday, 1st June, to finalise the details of the proposed interim trade agreement between the two countries. The talks are being seen as an important step in strengthening economic ties between India and the US at a time when global trade policies are rapidly changing.
The US delegation will be led by chief negotiator Brendan Lynch, while India’s side will be headed by Darpan Jain, Additional Secretary in the Department of Commerce.
India, US Chief Negotiators To Hold Four-Day Trade Talks From June 1 https://t.co/K8nUyQ4a1z pic.twitter.com/5TXFSl7NZ0
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According to the Commerce Ministry, both sides are expected to “finalise the details of the interim agreement and take forward the negotiations under the broader BTA on multiple areas such as market access, non-tariff measures, customs and trade facilitation, investment promotion, and economic security alignment.”
Talks restart after earlier delay
India and the US had earlier agreed on the framework of the first phase of the Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) during discussions held in February this year. The framework laid down the broad structure for an interim trade pact, after which both countries were expected to work on the legal text of the agreement.
As part of that understanding, the US had agreed to reduce tariffs on Indian goods from 50% to 18%. Washington had also removed the earlier 25% tariff linked to India’s purchase of Russian oil and proposed reducing the remaining tariffs further under the new agreement.
However, the situation changed after the US Supreme Court, on 20th February, ruled against President Donald Trump’s sweeping reciprocal tariffs that had been imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) of 1977.
Following the ruling, the US administration announced a flat 10% tariff on all countries for 150 days starting from 24th February. Due to these policy changes, a scheduled meeting between Indian and US negotiators in February was postponed.
The discussions later resumed in Washington in April, when an Indian delegation led by Darpan Jain visited the US between 20th and 23rd April. The latest round of talks in Delhi is aimed at carrying forward those negotiations.
