India-US trade talks achieve good progress on key issues: Commerce Ministry
The discussions, held in Washington from April 20-22, sought to finalise the details of the first phase of trade agreement between the two nations
The three-day trade negotiations between India and the United States have achieved good progress, with both the nations have agreed to maintain the pace moving forward, according to the Union Ministry of Commerce statement on Friday.
The discussions, held in Washington from April 20-22, sought to finalise the details of the first phase of trade agreement between the two nations.
According to the Commerce Ministry statement, the trade discussions included multiple areas such as market access, non-tariff measures, technical barriers to trade, customs and trade facilitation, investment promotion, economic security alignment and digital trade.
"The meetings were conducted in a constructive and positive spirit with meaningful and forward-looking discussions enabling progress on key matters. Both sides agreed to remain engaged to maintain this momentum as they move forward," the statement noted.
On Thursday, a spokesperson for the foreign ministry had said that India and the US are in constructive negotiations to secure a fair and advantageous trade deal.
While addressing the media, spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal had said trade discussions are continuous and beneficial. In order to reach a USD 500 billion trade target by 2030, both sides are striving for a fair, advantageous, and ambitious trade deal that takes into consideration each other’s priorities and concerns.
Earlier, on February 2, India and the US displayed the framework of their bilateral trade agreement. On February 7, the deal’s text was made public. As part of the deal, India asks for preferential access to US markets as the two nations aim to reach USD 500 billion in bilateral commerce by 2030.
Under the earlier framework, the US had proposed reducing tariffs on Indian goods to 18 per cent from 50 per cent, while India had offered tariff concessions across industrial goods and a wide range of agricultural products.
However, Trump’s reciprocal tariffs, which were enforced under the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), were overturned by the US Supreme Court on February 20.
In order to ensure that its interests are safeguarded under the new international tariff framework, India is making an effort to recalibrate and redraft the agreement following the Supreme Court’s ruling.
