Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Friday met US Trade Representative (USTR) Jamieson Greer to discuss the next steps in negotiations on the Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA).
The meeting took place on the sidelines of the 14th Ministerial Conference in Yaoundé, Cameroon. Both sides also discussed ways to further deepen economic cooperation and trade ties, Goyal posted on “X”.
The discussions also focused on key issues at the ministerial conference.
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Legal Pivot
India and the US had agreed to negotiate the BTA in February last year. The terms of reference for the agreement were finalised by the end of March 2025. However, the reciprocal tariffs imposed by the US on all its trade partners in April, along with an additional 25% duty on India for purchasing crude oil from Russia, shifted the focus of the negotiations.
After months of talks, India and the US arrived at a framework for an interim trade agreement in February this year, which eliminated the 25% oil-related duties on Indian exports to the US. Another component of the deal was a reduction in reciprocal tariffs on India to 18% from 25%.
However, before these reciprocal tariffs could be reduced, the US Supreme Court invalidated the country-specific duties imposed by the Donald Trump administration. Following the court’s ruling, the US imposed an additional 10% duty on all imports under Section 122 of the Trade Act.
These surcharges, aimed at addressing large and serious balance-of-payments deficits, can be imposed only for 150 days, with an upper limit of 15%. Before the expiry of this 150-day window, the US initiated a probe into the policies of its major trade partners — including India, the European Union, and 14 other countries — alleging that they enable excess capacities in certain manufacturing sectors and harm US industry.
Another probe was launched by the US under Section 301(b) of the Trade Act. It has also opened a separate set of investigations to determine whether the acts, policies, and practices of its trade partners —particularly relating to the failure to impose and effectively enforce bans on the import of goods produced using forced labour — are unreasonable or discriminatory, and whether they burden or restrict US commerce.
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July 24 Deadline
This second investigation under the Trade Act will cover 60 economies, including India, Canada, China, Japan, Australia, Bangladesh, and Pakistan.
Although investigations under Section 301 typically take 12–18 months, the US government is expected to expedite the process and use it to maintain additional tariffs that are otherwise set to expire on July 24 this year.
TOPICSPiyush GoyalTradeThis article was first uploaded on March twenty-eight, twenty twenty-six, at eleven minutes past twelve in the am.