The next round of trade talks between India and US could see the American officials coming down to New Delhi to give a final shape to the trade agreement framework of which was finalised in February, a senior official said.
The interim agreement based in the framework was to be finalised by March but the US Supreme Court judgement nullified all reciprocal tariffs which were the tool used by the Trump Administration to strike trade deals with partners.
After the judgement and imposition of 10% additional tariffs through other laws by the US, India and US could meet for the first time physically from April 20-23. “Now we expect the US team to visit India next for trade talks. No dates have been decided,” the official said.
With no reciprocal tariffs and flat additional tariffs applying to all exporters to US, India is seeking provisions in the trade deal that gives it preference over its competitors in the American market.
Industry Should Utilise FTAs
Earlier speaking at CII’s Annual Business Summit Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal said that the Indian industry needs to leverage and utilise the Free Trade Agreements (FTA) that are operational or are in offing as they provide huge opportunities for trade and investments. He said currently FTA utilisation rates by Indian exporters are quite low.
He also said that the country’s industrial policy should complement its trade policy, as trade is also a function of how India invests and produces.
The industry should include these FTA’s in their long-term business strategy and look at more and more opportunities to become a part of global value chains, he said adding that the new FTAs of India are with developed economies, which are complementary in nature and which can bring investments into India.
“We are expanding beyond tariffs, talking about services in greater manner, talking about harmonisation of regulations because at the end of these FTAs, we want to provide a very predictable trade, tariff and regulatory environment to our investors and industry,” he said.
The Commerce Secretary said “In the past six years, India has signed nine FTAs with 38 different countries, which are at various stages of implementation. Today India’s FTAs are deeper, and much more nuanced.”
He spoke about India’s engagement with the world today, which is expanding beyond tariffs, towards harmonisation of regulations, as the need of the hour calls for predictable trade, tariff and regulatory environment for investors and industry. This will enable the country to not only grow trade but also create the right foundation for getting investment, both domestic and foreign.