Ministerial-level Talks on India-US Trade Pact To Begin on Sept. 22
The visit comes after the recent daylong discussions in New Delhi between US chief negotiator Brendan Lynch and his Indian counterpart Rajesh Agrawal on the proposed bilateral trade agreement. “Till now trade talks with US officials were positive and we are looking forward to clinching the first tranche of tariff deal with the US very soon,” said the official
New Delhi: The ministerial-level talks of both the US and India are likely to kick-start in Washington on Monday as a delegation led by Union commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal along with India’s chief trade negotiator Rajesh Agrawal and other senior ministry officials are learnt to have left for the US on Sunday. The both sides are expected to resolve key differences and make progress towards a mutually beneficial trade pact between the two nations, a ministry official said.
The visit comes after the recent daylong discussions in New Delhi between US chief negotiator Brendan Lynch and his Indian counterpart Rajesh Agrawal on the proposed bilateral trade agreement. “Till now trade talks with US officials were positive and we are looking forward to clinching the first tranche of tariff deal with the US very soon,” said the official.
As far as the high-stake trade deals are concerned, the official also said talks would also be held on the political front by external affairs minister S Jaishankar and US secretary of state Marco Rubio when they meet on the sidelines of the UNGA in New York next week. “However, Jaishankar’s travel plans to the US are being worked out and an official announcement will be made soon,” said the official.
The recent visit of the high-ranking US trade officials was first after the imposition of a 25 per cent tariff and an additional 25 percent penalty on Indian goods entering the American market for buying Russian crude oil. On September 16, the commerce ministry had also said that daylong discussions with the visiting US team on a bilateral trade deal were positive, and both sides agreed to push for an early and mutually beneficial conclusion of the agreement.
Earlier, India had planned to conclude the first tranche of the pact by the fall (October-November) of 2025. Later, officials from the commerce ministry said that both nations would reach a final decision on the first tranche of the deal by November this year. So far, five rounds of negotiations have been held. The pact is aimed at more than doubling the bilateral trade to $500 billion by 2030 from the current $191 billion.
