The US trade team in New Delhi is negotiating with the Indian side on market access for agricultural products: Reports
CHENNAI: US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said that though India has been “a difficult nut to crack” in the trade deal talks, it has made the “best ever received” offers.
The US trade team in New Delhi is negotiating with the Indian side on market access for agricultural products.
There is “resistance in India to certain row crops and meat products”. India has been a “difficult nut to crack”. But they have been “quite forward leaning” in the latest round of talks, he told the US Senate.
He also said that the offers they have been talking about are “the best we’ve ever received as a country,” making India a viable alternative market for US exporters. USTR also said Washington is pushing to expand sales of biofuels derived from soybeans.
“Greer’s claim that India’s offer is “the best the U.S. has ever received” is hard to swallow when countries like Malaysia have conceded even core policy space in their trade deals with Washington,” said GTRI.
Meanwhile, Union commerce minister Piyush Goyal said that negotiations with the United States are “progressing well" towards a bilateral trade agreement. He also said that India does not negotiate deals based on deadlines.
“All agreements have many diversified angles. Many dots have been connected, and we never negotiate deals with deadlines,” the minister said
India’s Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal met US Deputy Trade Representative Rick Switzer in New Delhi on Wednesday. Switzer is leading the US team for two days of trade discussions, as India seeks relief from punitive tariffs.
