Further progress has been made in the just-concluded trade talks between India and the US and no major differences now remain between the two sides, a senior official said on Saturday.
A team of officials led by Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal who were in Washington between October 15 and October 17 is on their way back and the date of the next meeting will be decided in due course.
“There has been progress with every round of the talks with the US, There are no major differences left. In the current round the engagement was positive,” the official added, requesting anonymity.
These comments come in the backdrop of Washington’s repeated claims of an assurance from India to phase out import of crude oil from Russia. India has merely said it is willing to increase energy imports from India, in its bid to diversify sourcing, while being mindful of costs.
The US currently levies an additional 50% tariff on most Indian goods, half of which as a penal impost for buying oil from Russia.
“No agreement can be made (with the US) until we take care of the interests of India’s farmers, fishermen and Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs),” Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal had said at a press conference here earlier in the day. He and two other ministers — Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Electronics, Railway and I&B minister Ashwini Vaishnaw — explained how the recent Goods and Service Tax (GST) rate cuts have boosted consumption during the festive season.
While the negotiations with the US continue, Goyal will be holding talks on the proposed India-European Union (EU) free trade agreement with the leadership of the 27-member grouping later this month. The minister will be in Europe for the Berlin Global Dialogue that will be held from October 23 to October 25. In Europe he will be holding meetings with investors and European companies. After that trade talks with the EU will be held in Brussels.
Goyal’s visit follows the conclusion of the 14th round of talks between the two sides from October 6 to October 10. At the closing of the 14th round the Commerce Secretary had also visited Brussels to provide a push to the talks. Agrawal also met his counterpart in the European Commission (EC) Director General for Trade (DG-Trade) Sabine Weyand during the visit.
The gap between the negotiating rounds and meetings between the top leadership of India and EU have increased as both sides work to meet the deadline for concluding the negotiations on the FTA by this year-end.
After his visit to Europe, Goyal will visit New Zealand. Both countries launched negotiations on their trade agreement in March this year and have held three rounds of talks on it.
At the press conference the minister reiterated that despite the disturbances in world trade due to US tariff action, India’s exports will expand this financial year also.
“There is resilience, there is confidence, there is a demand for our goods and services across the world and India will continue on this growth trajectory, and we are confident we will end 2025-26 with a positive growth in India’s exports (goods and services),” Goyal said.
In April-September India’s overall exports rose 5% on year to $ 413.3 billion. Merchandise shipments also expanded 3 % to $ 220.12 billion during the period. The exports to the US, however, fell 12% on year to $ 5.43 billion.