The talks between India and US on the contours of a Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) could not be concluded on Friday, official sources said, adding that both sides were hoping to wrap up the discussions today.
Another session was required to cover as much ground as possible before the visiting US delegation, led by Assistant US Trade Representative for South and Central Asia Brendan Lynch, leaves. Both sides are pining a lot of hopes on the BTA parameters to be mutually agreed on, even as Donald Trump administration is bent on implementing reciprocal tariffs on the US’s trading partners effective April 2.
Officials refused to elaborate on the key areas of agreement or discord regarding the BTA talks. A joint statement is expected after today’s final session, the sources said, without indicating the extent of progress in talks.
Apart from contours of the agreement, the talks started on Wednesday are also aimed at fixing the schedule for detailed negotiations on BTA. As BTA will initially focus on goods trade, current discussions are broadly centered around Terms of Reference of first tranche of the pact, which covers merchandise trade.
If India gets a waiver is still not clear. Commerce and Industry Minister said on Thursday that whatever happens on April 2 India’s growth story will remain intact and it will continue to power the global economy. Officials say while the industry is keen on the BTA with India’s largest trading partner, it is worried about the reciprocal tariffs as they may lead to contraction in exports and job losses.