The next round of meeting between officials of India and US for finalising an interim trade agreement based on the framework announced in February will be held next month, a senior official said Friday.
“The Indian team had visited the US last month and they had very good discussions. And we expect the U.S. team to visit us soon. The dates are for the same as yet not been finalised.
But I expect it will happen soon. Not this month, but it will happen sometime next month,” Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal said.
Supreme Court Ruling
The interim agreement based on the framework was expected to be finalised by March. However, a US Supreme Court judgment nullified all reciprocal tariffs, which had been the key tool used by the Trump administration to strike trade deals with partner countries.
Following the court’s ruling the US imposed 10% additional duties on all imports under Section 122 of the Trade Act. It also opened two probes under Section 301 of the Act against key exporters for their excess production capacities and labour standards.
Under Section 122 tariffs up to 15% can be imposed for 150 days but under Section 301 there are no limits to duties that can be imposed if the probe finds that measures by trade partners are hurting the US. India has submitted its response to both the investigations and now both sides are engaged in consultations.
“We have joined the consultations which took place yesterday in the US on both these investigations. So I think once the consultation process is over, it is for the US to determine the next steps under the 301 tariffs,” Agrawal said.
Indian Team Navigates
With reciprocal tariffs no longer in place and flat additional tariffs applying to all exporters to the US, India is seeking provisions in the trade deal that would give it preferential access over competitors in the American market.
During the April meeting, India and the US discussed the nuts and bolts of the interim trade agreement. The Indian delegation, led by chief negotiator and Additional Secretary in the Department of Commerce Darpan Jain, travelled to the US to finalise details of the agreement and advance negotiations under the broader Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA).
Multiple areas, including market access, non-tariff measures, technical barriers to trade, customs and trade facilitation, investment promotion, economic security alignment, and digital trade, were discussed during the meetings. Between the physical rounds of negotiations, officials from both sides have continued to hold virtual discussions.