India and US discuss contours of trade deal; seek early conclusion

Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal led a delegation to New York, where India and the US discussed contours of a trade deal and agreed to work towards an early conclusion despite oil-related hurdles

India and the United States (US) discussed and exchanged views on the “possible contours” of a trade deal during Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal’s visit to New York earlier this week, according to an official statement issued on Friday.

 

Both sides will continue their engagements towards an “early conclusion” of a trade agreement. “Both sides exchanged views on possible contours of the deal and it was decided to continue the engagements with a view to achieve early conclusion of a mutually beneficial trade agreement,” the commerce department said.

 

A delegation led by Goyal visited the US from September 22 to 24, during which he met his counterpart, the United States Trade Representative, Jamieson Greer, as well as Sergio Gor, the US ambassador-designate to India. Goyal was accompanied by senior commerce department officials, including Special Secretary and chief negotiator Rajesh Agrawal.

 

 

On Thursday, a US official said both countries were negotiating a comprehensive resolution covering not only outstanding trade issues but also Washington’s concerns over New Delhi’s continued purchase of Russian oil.

 

“We want to address it comprehensively rather than piece by piece. There has to be some sort of agreement at the higher levels to President Donald Trump’s satisfaction that we have a way forward to ultimately reduce and eliminate India’s Russian oil purchases. The oil issue is the thorniest. When that’s resolved, the others won’t be too tough to negotiate,” said the official.

 

 

 

Talks between the two countries had previously stalled, largely because of India’s refusal to grant Washington unrestricted access to its politically sensitive agriculture and dairy sectors. Bilateral ties were further strained by Trump’s imposition of a 25 per cent reciprocal tariff and an additional 25 per cent levy on India for purchasing Russian oil.

 

Trade economist Biswajit Dhar said both sides see value in concluding an agreement. “Going ahead, it needs to be seen what can the US get from India, which can improve its trade prospects, what incremental market access it can get but without rubbing India too much. The US’ trade deficit with India also needs to be narrowed. However, it needs to be done in a way that both sides mutually benefit,” he said.

 

The commerce department statement added that, alongside talks with US government representatives, the delegation also met American businesses and investors to promote trade and investment. Goyal held discussions with World Bank President Ajay Banga; Chip Kaye, chair of Warburg Pincus; Mukesh Aghi, president and CEO of the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum; Harvey Schwartz, CEO of Carlyle Group; and Arvind Krishna, chair and CEO of IBM, among others.

 

“The meetings with businesses and investors evoked positive responses. The business leaders reposed confidence in the India growth story and expressed their desire to intensify their business activities in India,” the statement added.