India does not negotiate trade deals with a deadline in mind but if there has to be a deadline for the agreement with the US, it should be for them as the additional tariffs imposed by the Trump administration expire on July 24, commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal said Monday.
The 10% additional tariffs were imposed by the US after the reciprocal tariffs were invalidated by the US Supreme Court under the Section 122 of the Trade Act. There tariffs can be imposed only for 150 days.
“The tariffs will expire in the US and that is not something I have to be worried about. If the first trance of the Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) is completed before July 24 I will be the happiest person,” Goyal said at a Republic World Summit.
To give final touches to the deal that has been negotiated since March last year, the US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer will arrive in New Delhi late Monday for two-day talks on July 23-24.
“Multiple sessions are scheduled with Piyush Goyal to advance the trade deal,” US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor posted in ‘X’. Greer would also be meeting other senior officials. He will later travel to Uzbekistan.
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“Ambassador Greer will conduct each of these meetings with his counterparts to discuss achieving fair, balanced, and reciprocal trade with the United States,” a statement by the office of USTR said.
“Trade deals are about getting preferential treatment over the competition. My effort in closing the deal is always that our exporters and products should benefit from preferential access compared to competing countries like those in the Asean region and our neighbours.”
“We are trying to work out with the US on how they will ensure that we will get a comparative advantage,” the minister added..
The agreements with the US, European Union (EU) and others are very comprehensive that would also help us in services in a big way, opening the doors to technology exchange, education and tourism, Goyal said.
The interim deal is based on the framework agreement agreed between India and the US in February this year. As per the agreement, the US had agreed to bring down additional duties on Indian products to 18% from 50% in return for duty-free access for its manufactured products in Indian markets. The agreement also talks of India buying $500 billion worth of goods in five years from the US.
While the reciprocal tariffs, which sparked the trade negotiations, are no longer in force, the US is building another framework of tariffs using Section 301 of the Trade Act to enter into trade deals with partners. India would also seek a clarity on future action under Section 301 in the trade negotiations.
TOPICSIndia-USIndia-US trade dealPiyush GoyalThis article was first uploaded on June twenty-two, twenty twenty-six, at forty-five minutes past eleven in the night. © IE Online Media Services (P) Ltd