Page 6 - Trade Talks

Best of BS Opinion: India must not shy away from trade negotiations

Our Opinion page today makes a case for more trade talks, note less; benefits for Isro from partnering with Nasa; a sustainable fix for urban congestion; and the need for a framework for digital fraud

US tariffs should not be cause for disengaging from trade talks, blocs

The fundamental challenge for the Indian economy is to increase productivity and competitiveness

Govt will safeguard farmers' interests in trade talks with US: Chouhan

The government will protect the interest of farmers in trade negotiations with the US, Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said on Friday. "We have said clearly the country's interest is top priority. Farmers' interest will be protected," Chouhan told reporters after inaugurating the Meghalaya Pineapple Festival. The agriculture and dairy sector will be protected. "We keep in mind the country's interest while taking any decisions," he noted. US President Donald Trump on Wednesday announced the imposition of a 25 per cent tariff on all goods coming from India starting August 1, plus an unspecified penalty for buying Russian crude oil and military equipment. New Delhi has never opened the dairy sector in any of its earlier signed free trade pacts. The agri sector is politically sensitive for India, as about 700 million rural livelihoods are dependent on it. Lowering duties would also pose a risk to national food security. On Thursday, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goy

US team to visit India on Aug 25 for next round of talks for trade pact

The US team will visit India on August 25 for the next round of negotiations for the proposed bilateral trade agreement between the two countries, an official said on Tuesday. The official added that the two sides continue to be engaged in an interim trade deal as the August 1 deadline is approaching. August 1 marks the end of the suspension period of tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump on dozens of countries, including India (26 per cent). "The US team is visiting for the sixth round of talks," the official said. India and the US teams concluded the fifth round of talks for the agreement last week in Washington. India's chief negotiator and special secretary in the Department of Commerce Rajesh Agrawal and Assistant US Trade Representative for South and Central Asia Brendan Lynch held the deliberations. These deliberations are important as both sides are looking at finalising an interim trade deal before August 1. On April 2 this year, Trump announced high reciprocal .

Freedom to 'rebalance': India on the UK's proposed carbon border tax

If CBAM adversely impacts Indian exports covered by the deal, the government will act to ensure that the agreed market access terms are not diluted

India-UK trade deal fails to lift stocks as earnings concerns dominate mkts

Despite the anticipated India-UK trade deal, Indian equity markets remained subdued, with a broad selloff overshadowing sector-specific optimism

India-UK trade deal: Med device firms cautious about country of origin

The UK-India Free Trade Agreement is expected to boost trade in pharmaceuticals and medical devices, though industry players remain cautious about the impact of country of origin rules

Double contribution convention to help Indian workers and firms in UK: Govt

India and the UK agree on a Double Contribution Convention that will benefit Indian workers and firms in the UK by exempting social security contributions for up to three years

Europe and China to hold trade talks; low expectations for major agreements

European leaders are meeting with top Chinese officials in Beijing on Thursday to discuss trade, climate change and global conflicts, with observers saying expectations were low for any solid agreements. The talks, initially supposed to last two days but scaled back to one, come amid financial uncertainty around the world, wars in the Middle East and Ukraine, and the threat of U.S. tariffs. Neither the EU nor China is likely to budge on key issues dividing the two economic juggernauts. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antnio Costa will meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang to mark 50 years of relations between Brussels and Beijing. Von der Leyen and Costa were expected to challenge China's strategies on a number of issues during the talks. They include Beijing's position on Russian President Vladimir Putin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine; and China's trade imbalance with the EU, persistent cyberattacks and ...

Coercive bilateralism: New world order defined by how trade deals are made

For India, the challenge is to strike a balance between tactical necessity and economic priorities

CBAM exemption may not offer much relief to Indian steel MSMEs: Experts

50-tonne threshold seen as too low to ease burden; experts call for green transition or market diversification

US-Indonesia trade deal shows risks of pressure, India must be wary: GTRI

The US-Indonesia trade pact reflects how Washington's pressure tactics can compel countries to cut tariffs, commit to large purchases, and loosen regulatory control, and India should tread cautiously in ongoing trade talks to avoid similar concessions, economic think tank GTRI said on Wednesday. Indonesia gave up far more than it gained, removing 99 per cent of its tariffs on US goods, agreeing to buy USD 22.7 billion in American products, and weakening important rules that protected its industries, food safety, and digital space, the Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) said. "India now faces similar US demands, including allowing remanufactured goods, opening up agriculture and dairy, accepting genetically modified (GM) feed, and adopting US rules on digital trade and product standards," GTRI Founder Ajay Srivastava said. He added that accepting American standards on cars, medical devices, or food, without any guarantee of reciprocity, would put India's consumers at ...

India-US trade deal negotiations pushed beyond Donald Trump's deadline

A team of officials from Washington DC will visit India for a sixth round of negotiation, around a month after negotiators from both sides wrapped up the fifth round of talks in Washington last week

Aug 1 is hard tariff deadline, but US open to talks: Commerce Secy Lutnick

India-US trade talks continue with agriculture remaining a major sticking point for both nations as they try to reach an interim deal before the August 1 deadline

India, US conclude fifth round of talks on proposed trade pact: Official

India and the US teams have concluded the fifth round of talks for the proposed bilateral trade agreement (BTA) in Washington on July 17, an official said. The negotiations were held for four days (July 14-17) in Washington. "The Indian team is coming back," the official said. India's chief negotiator and special secretary in the department of commerce Rajesh Agrawal leads the team for negotiations. These deliberations are important as both sides are looking at finalising an interim trade deal before August 1, which marks the end of the suspension period of the Trump tariffs imposed on dozens of countries including India (26 per cent). On April 2 this year, US President Donald Trump announced these high reciprocal tariffs. The implementation of high tariff was immediately suspended for 90 days till July 9 and later till August 1 as America is negotiating trade deals with a number of countries. Issues related to agriculture and automobiles are learnt to have figured during the fif

India needs to be careful, clever in trade talks with US: Raghuram Rajan

India needs to be 'very careful and clever' while negotiating trade agreements with the US, especially with regard to the agriculture sector, which is heavily subsidised by developed countries, former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan said on Friday. In an interview with PTI Videos, Rajan said India's economic growth has sort of settled in the range of 6-7 per cent, and a fraction of percentage point may be affected by the global trade uncertainties. "I think where it is much more sort of difficult (trade negotiations) is in areas such as agriculture, where every country subsidises its producers, and our producers may be relatively smaller, may have somewhat lower subsidies... the kind of harm that unconstrained flow of agricultural products into the country may create problems for them," he said. Earlier this week, the Indian team was in Washington for the fifth round of negotiations for the proposed Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA). "For example, can we encourage more foreign direct ...

India should negotiate trade deal with US on its own terms: EAC-PM chief

India should negotiate a trade agreement with the US on its own terms, keeping in view the national interest, Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM) Chairman S Mahendra Dev has said. Dev expressed hope that India will have an advantage over other countries on tariffs once the Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) are signed, and it would boost exports. "The overall approach of India is negotiating trade agreements with countries on its own terms and keeping in view the national interests. The negotiations are going on and the ultimate decision depends on the mutual interests of both countries," he told PTI. US President Donald Trump has said the proposed trade deal with India would be on the lines of what America has finalised with Indonesia on Tuesday. Under the US-Indonesia trade pact, the Southeast Asian nation will provide complete access to its market to US products, while Indonesian goods would attract a 19 per cent duty in America. In addition, Indonesia has commit

Brazil's Lula open to talks with Trump amid trade spat, says minister

Brazil's Lula open to talks with Trump amid trade spat, says minister

We will have access to India, says Trump after striking Indonesia deal

Trump announces full US market access and reduced tariff for Indonesia and says India is working along the same line in securing a trade deal

Importers delay clearances for US dry fruits to avoid high import duties

Indian dry fruit importers are expecting a cut of nearly 50 per cent in import duties on US-origin shipments and are delaying customs clearances to avoid losses if duties are reduced after clearance