India-US Trade Talks: India-US trade talks from April 23, 19 chapters to be discussed
New Delhi| Officials from India and the US will hold three-day talks in Washington from April 23 for a proposed trade deal. This negotiation will discuss 19 chapters involving tariffs, non-tariff barriers and customs facilitation.
Indian officials’ contingent official contingent in the U.S. will formally begin negotiations to further speed up negotiations and a bilateral trade agreement (BTA) in the 90-day tariff break period. This will be preceded by a brainstorming of these ToRs (trade pact with terms of references) to overcome differences on certain issues.
India’s chief negotiator, Rajesh Aggarwal, Additional Secretary in the Department of Commerce, will lead the team for the first face-to-face talks between the two countries. Agrawal was appointed the next Secretary of Commerce on 18 April. He will take office from October 1.
“Both sides will discuss the level of ambition”, the official said. Work-by-rules will be further developed and discussed. What will be the path of dialogue? Work-by-rules will include issues such as tariffs, non-tariff barriers, rules of origin, goods, services, customs facilities and regulatory issues He said that the general framework of the agreement would be discussed, as would the time schedule, so that things could be finalized in 90 days.
Previously, Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for South and Central Asia Brendan Lynch was in India from March 25 to 29 for important trade discussions with Indian officials. Both sides are keen to exploit the 90-day tariff pause announced on April 9 from U.S. President Donald Trump to move the talks forward. On 15 April, Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal had said that India would try to conclude talks with the US as soon as possible.
India and America have been negotiating bilateral trade agreements since March. Both sides have set a target of completing the first phase of the agreement by September-October this year. The objective is to more than double bilateral trade to US$ 500 billion by 2030. Bilateral trade between the two countries currently stands at approximately $191 billion.
