US trade delegation visiting India next week to resolve sticky trade issues

A high-level trade delegation from the US is expected to visit India next week to find ways to resolve the recent trade tensions between the two countries, official sources said on Thursday.

Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal is also likely to travel to Washington in the next few weeks as part of a larger bilateral engagement to thrash out the differences between the two sides on tariffs, they said.

Trade ties between the two sides have come under strain after the US last month announced its decision to end preferential trade status for India. As a retaliatory measure, India also announced raising tariffs on 29 goods imported from the US.

The American delegation is visiting India next month to thrash out sticky issues, the sources said.

When asked about friction between the two countries on the tariff issue, Raveesh Kumar, spokesperson in the Ministry of External Affairs, said the broad trajectory of Indo-US ties remained positive.

"The discussion between Prime Minister Modi and US President Donald Trump in Osaka was very open and productive," he said, adding there was bound to be certain differences in any multi-dimensional relationship.