India, U.S. to Hold Fresh Trade Talks June 23-24
New Delhi — India and the United States are set to intensify negotiations on a proposed interim trade agreement, with senior officials from the Office of the United States Trade Representative scheduled to visit New Delhi on June 23-24 for high-level talks aimed at finalizing the first tranche of the deal, a senior government official said Monday.
Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal said at the monthly trade data briefing that the USTR delegation will hold talks with Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and senior Indian officials during the visit.
“Our expectation is discussion will be centred around giving final touches to the first tranche of the deal as well as the larger Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) that has been under discussion,” Agrawal said.
He said the talks are expected to focus not only on concluding the interim agreement but also on advancing negotiations on the broader BTA being worked out between the two countries.
The visit follows a round of talks held in New Delhi earlier this month, when a USTR delegation met Indian officials to discuss various aspects of the proposed trade pact.
After the June 2-4 discussions, the government said both sides deliberated on trade in goods, non-tariff measures, customs and trade facilitation, economic security alignment, and other areas of mutual interest.
India and the U.S. issued a joint statement in February outlining a framework for an interim agreement based on reciprocal and mutually beneficial trade. The framework also reaffirmed both countries’ commitment to continuing negotiations on a comprehensive bilateral trade agreement.
Earlier this month, U.S. Ambassador to India Sergio Gor said the proposed India-U.S. trade agreement was “99 per cent there,” with only a few remaining issues left to be resolved.
He said officials from both sides were actively engaged in discussions and committed to concluding the agreement, which he described as a “win-win” outcome for India and the United States.
The upcoming USTR visit is expected to provide fresh momentum to the negotiations and help both sides move closer to finalizing the trade deal. (Source: IANS)
