India, US May Execute Interim Trade Pact by July, Minister Says
India and the US may execute an interim trade deal next month, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said, even as Washington proposed fresh tariffs on imports from major trading partners including the South Asian nation.
“By the middle of next month or so, we should be in a position to execute a very vibrant first tranche,” the minister told reporters in the southern Indian city of Visakhapatnam on Friday. He added that the deal would give India preferential access over its competitors.
A US trade delegation led by chief negotiator Brendan Lynch was in New Delhi June 1-4 to advance negotiations and finalize details of an interim trade deal.
Goyal’s remarks come hours after US President Donald Trump told reporters in the Oval Office that Washington and New Delhi will strike a long-awaited trade agreement after negotiators wrapped up talks this week.
The development comes even as the Office of US Trade Representative proposes to impose tariffs of at least 10% on imports from 60 trading partners following a Section 301 investigation into goods allegedly produced with forced labor. This is the Trump administration’s biggest move to revive a protectionist trade agenda after reciprocal levies were struck down by the US Supreme Court.
For products from nations including China, India, Japan, South Korea, and Brazil, a 12.5% levy has been proposed. New Delhi said it is engaged with Washington on the Section 301 probes.
“We are fast moving towards closing all the open ends,” Goyal said, adding that “an even higher level delegation” from the US is expected to come to India toward the end of this month.
The two countries agreed on the first tranche of a bilateral trade deal in February and were expected to finalize it in March. Under the proposed arrangement, Indian exports would have been subject to an 18% tariff, compared with the 50% rate announced last year. The process stalled after the US Supreme Court’s decision.
New Delhi has been pushing for dropping the section 301 probes and resolving the issue bilaterally given that the two nations are already engaged in trade negotiations.
.jpg)
