India, US likely to discuss import curbs on laptops, PCs, and tablets

There could also be talks on New Delhi's recent decision to impose restrictions on imports of electronic items such as laptops, PCs, tablets from November

India and the US are likely to discuss crucial bilateral issues related to reciprocal access in the government procurement process and advance discussions towards collaboration on critical minerals, two people in the know stated on Thursday.

There could also be talks about New Delhi’s recent decision to impose restrictions on imports of electronic items such as laptops, personal computers, and tablets starting from November, they noted.

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and United States Trade Representative (USTR) Katherine Tai are expected to engage in detailed discussions on these critical bilateral matters over the weekend in New Delhi.

“There will be a stocktaking of the matters discussed and decisions made after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s June visit to the US. The pending dispute at the World Trade Organization (WTO) over poultry imports from the US will also be addressed,” one of the individuals referenced earlier told Business Standard.

During Modi’s visit to the US in June, both countries decided to resolve and close six of the seven outstanding disputes at the WTO to strengthen economic ties between the two nations. They also agreed to initiate official-level discussions on issues related to bilateral government procurement.

“Regarding government procurement, we want to be part of their process, and they also want to be a part of our process,” the person quoted earlier said.

Opening up the central government procurement market has been a tricky area of discussion for India. Last year, in the trade agreement with the United Arab Emirates, India, for the first time, opened up its government procurement market, but only to a limited extent.

US President Joe Biden and Modi had also decided to accelerate bilateral collaboration to secure “resilient critical mineral supply chains through enhanced technical assistance and greater commercial cooperation, as well as exploration of additional joint frameworks as necessary”.

Tai is in Jaipur for the Group of Twenty (G20) Trade and Investment Ministerial Meeting and will also conduct bilateral meetings with her counterparts on the sidelines of G20 events. On Saturday, she will be in New Delhi to meet with business leaders and hold bilateral meetings with government officials, according to an official statement from USTR earlier this week.

On cards
 

Reciprocal access in govt procurement process to be discussed 
 

The issue has been a tricky area of discussion for India
 

India opened up its govt procurement market to a limited extent only to the UAE 
 

Pending dispute at WTO over poultry imports also likely to be taken up