US delegation to visit India in August for trade talks
What's the story
A US delegation will visit India in August for the next round of talks on a proposed bilateral trade agreement, according to PTI. The decision comes after the teams concluded fifth round of talks for the agreement last week in Washington. The two countries are working toward an interim trade deal before August 1, the deadline for the suspension period of Trump tariffs on several countries, including India. The upcoming visit in August indicates that negotiations are ongoing.
Discussion points
Upcoming talks to be led by
The upcoming talks will be led by India's chief negotiator Rajesh Agrawal, and Assistant US Trade Representative for South and Central Asia, Brendan Lynch. The fifth round of negotiations saw agriculture and automobiles as major discussion points. Other topics included how to deal with non-market economies, Special Chemicals, Organisms, Materials, Equipment, and Technologies (SCOMET).
Negotiation strategy
India's stance on US's request for duty concessions
India has taken a tough stance on the US's request for duty concessions on agricultural and dairy products. The country hasn't given any duty concessions to its trading partners in a free trade agreement in the dairy sector. Farmers' associations have also asked the government not to include agriculture-related issues in the trade pact.
Trade concessions
Duty concessions for labor-intensive sectors
India is looking for the removal of an additional tariff (26%) and reduction of tariffs on steel and aluminum (50%) and the auto sector (25%). These issues are critical to the trade pact negotiations. The country has also sought duty concessions for labor-intensive sectors such as textiles, gems and jewelry, leather goods, garments, plastics, chemicals, shrimp, oil seeds, grapes, and bananas in the proposed trade pact.
Industrial goods
US seeks duty concessions on certain industrial goods
The US, on its part, is seeking duty concessions on certain industrial goods, automobiles (especially electric vehicles (EVs)), wines, petrochemical products, agricultural goods, dairy items, apples, tree nuts, and genetically modified crops. The two countries hope to finalize talks for the first tranche of the proposed bilateral trade agreement (BTA) by September-October this year.