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India and Canada on Monday started fourth round of negotiations for the proposed Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) here, as the two sides look to conclude the talks this year, an official said. The issues that would figure in the five-day (September 14-18) talks include trade in goods, services, rules of origin, and technical trade barriers, among others. The third round was held in July in Ottawa, the official said. The negotiations are important as the two sides have targeted to increase bilateral trade to USD 50 billion by 2030. In 2025-26, two-way trade dipped 8.22 per cent to USD 7.95 billion (USD 4.67 billion exports and USD 3.28 billion imports) from USD 8.66 billion in 2024-25 (USD 4.22 billion exports and USD 4.44 billion imports). Key exports from India to Canada include pharmaceuticals, iron and steel, seafood, cotton garments, electronic goods and chemicals, among others. The main imports include pulses, pearls and semi-precious stones, coal, fertili
India is committed to conclude negotiations for a comprehensive trade agreement with Chile this year as it would help further strengthen economic ties between the two countries, the commerce ministry said on Sunday. Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agarwal was there in Santiago, Chile to review the progress of the talks. The proposed comprehensive economic partnership agreement (CEPA) is expected to open new avenues for greater trade and investment, while fostering cooperation in technology, talent and resilient supply chains. "India remains committed to concluding the CEPA negotiations within this year, with the aim of delivering a balanced and mutually beneficial framework that provides equitable and commercially meaningful outcomes for businesses on both sides," it said. Agrawal met Paula Estevez Weinstein, Vice-Minister of International Economic Relations, Chile, on August 26 to advance negotiations on the India-Chile CEPA. The secretary highlighted the immense potential for enhanced
The United States has imposed a 10 per cent tariff on goods imported from India and 16 other countries as part of its efforts to combat the use of forced labour in the production of such items. Last month, when the US had proposed tariffs under Section 301 of the Trade Act, India was bracketed among countries attracting 12.5 per cent levies, but Washington took note of the amendment New Delhi made to its foreign trade policy prohibiting the import of goods produced using forced labour. "As a result of these actions, the Trade Representative has advised me that the goods of these economies should be tariffed at the 10 per cent rate to further encourage these economies to effectively enforce such prohibitions," US President Donald Trump said in a memorandum on the issue on Thursday. US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer announced the new tariffs on 60 countries under Section 301 of the Trade Act on Thursday, a day before the expiration of 10 per cent additional levies on all ...
Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Monday said India and the US teams are fully engaged for a trade pact that is balanced, commercially meaningful, and delivers tangible benefits for businesses, farmers, workers, and consumers. He said that he had a meeting with US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer here last month. "Both sides reaffirmed their commitment to an agreement that is balanced, commercially meaningful, and delivers tangible benefits for businesses, farmers, workers, and consumers in both countries. Our teams remain fully engaged in achieving this objective," Goyal said in a social media post.
US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal will hold two-day talks this week on the first phase of the bilateral trade agreement. "For the US trade deal talks, tomorrow my counterpart is coming to Delhi," Goyal told reporters in Mumbai. The meeting followed chief negotiator-level discussions on the pact held earlier this month (June 2-4) here in the national capital. Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal has recently stated that the discussions between the two ministers are expected to be centred around giving final touches to the framework deal. On June 5, Goyal said India and the US are moving towards closing all the open ends of the interim trade agreement, and both sides are likely to execute the "very, very vibrant" first phase of the BTA by the middle of next month. IMPORTANCE OF THE MIDDLE OF NEXT MONTH -------------------------------------------------- The 10 per cent temporary tariff imposed by the US on all its trading partners o
The United States is very optimistic about the progress of trade negotiations with India, and a bilateral trade deal remains a priority for the Trump administration, State Department Spokesperson Tommy Pigott said. Pigott was responding to a question by PTI during a roundtable interaction organised by the New York Foreign Press Centre with a select group of international journalists on Thursday. "On trade, we have been very optimistic about the progress of trade talks," he said. Noting the recent visit to India by officials from the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR), Pigott also underscored the role played by US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor in advancing trade and investment ties between the two countries. "He has also made this trade issue really important", most notably through these trade discussions, but also through bilateral investments between the two countries, including millions of dollars worth of SelectUSA investments, Pigott said. SelectUSA is a .
The proposed 12.5 per cent tariff on India by the US Trade Representative (USTR) under Section 301 investigations goes beyond the scope of the provision, and New Delhi should challenge the ambit of the probe, think tank GTRI said on Wednesday. The 12.5 per cent tariff exceeds the USA's WTO commitment. The US Trade Representative has proposed to impose 12.5 per cent additional duties on 54 countries, including India, for failing to prohibit the import of goods produced with forced labour. The action follows investigations launched against 60 countries over what the USTR described as their failure to impose and effectively enforce bans on imports made with forced labour. "The current investigation exceeds the scope of Section 301, which deals with market-access barriers faced by the US firms in the country being investigated and not what it imports and from where", the Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) said. It added that the investigation is not based on allegations that Indi
The chief negotiators of the US and India will begin four-day talks here on Monday on finalising the details of the interim trade pact, whose framework was agreed upon in February. The US team will be led by its chief negotiator Brendan Lynch. India's chief negotiator is Darpan Jain, who is an additional secretary in the Department of Commerce. The two sides are "proposed to finalise the details of the interim agreement and take forward the negotiations under the broader BTA on multiple areas such as market access, non-tariff measures, customs and trade facilitation, investment promotion, and economic security alignment," the commerce ministry has said. On February 7, India and the US issued a joint statement finalising the contours or framework of the first phase of the bilateral trade agreement (BTA) or an interim trade agreement. Now, both sides will have to finalise the legal text for that deal. The framework reaffirmed the countries' commitment to the broader India-US BTA ...
Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal gave assurances that the India-US interim agreement is close as he provided an "encouraging update" on bilateral trade negotiations during an interaction with eminent business leaders, the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF) said. Goyal also discussed ways to further deepen India-US trade, investment and supply-chain partnerships during the closed-door roundtable interaction on Thursday. The Consulate General of India in New York, in collaboration with USISPF, hosted Goyal for the closed-door roundtable discussion, where he engaged with over 50 prominent business and industry leaders. Goyal said he highlighted India's strong growth story, reform-driven business environment, and expanding opportunities for global investors under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. "Discussed ways to further deepen India-US trade, investment, innovation, and supply-chain partnerships for shared prosperity," he said in a post on X. USI