NEW DELHI: Indian and the United States officials will get down to finalising the contours of the proposed bilateral trade agreement, starting Wednesday, along with the terms of reference and schedule of what is expected to be a two-stage pact.
A team led by assistant US trade representative for South and Central Asia Brendan Lynch will hold talks with his Indian counterpart Rajesh Agarwal, additional secretary in the commerce department, with the idea to clinch the first tranche of the deal by Sept-Oct. While it is still early days, the first tranche is expected to focus on tariff reduction by both sides as US President Donald Trump mounts pressure on slashing tariffs on high-end cars and EVs as well as whiskey and farm products.
More clarity is expected to emerge towards the end of the week when the three-day talks conclude, days ahead of Trump’s deadline for imposing “reciprocal tariffs” from April 2, which he is now calling ‘Liberation Day’.
While the contours of the reciprocal tariffs remain sketchy, it is unclear if the US will raise tariffs amid ongoing negotiations.
“We value our ongoing engagement with the govt of India on trade and investment matters and look forward to continuing these discussions in a constructive, equitable and forward-looking manner,” a US embassy spokesperson said.
Indian officials remained tight-lipped about what they are seeking to gain from the trade deal. An official said a trade pact will bring more predictability in tariffs, regulations and economic integration. A good trade deal can create a lot of synergy for “lot of two-way trade and investments”, the official said.
During Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Washington last month, India and the US had agreed to launch talks for a bilateral trade deal and had set a target of scaling up bilateral trade to $500 billion by 2030.
“As directed by the leaders of the two countries, India remains committed to working with the US side in the trade and economic domains to enhance prosperity and innovation in both India and the US, and deepen supply chain integration between the two countries. We look forward to productive and constructive discussions with the incoming US delegation to expand and deepen our bilateral trade and economic ties in a mutually beneficial manner,” an official statement said ahead of the talks.
While talks have been held through virtual meetings, this will be the first round of physical dialogue at the official level, although formal negotiations will only be launched after modalities are worked out this week.