India-US trade deal negotiations ‘put off’ after Supreme Court’s jolt to Trump on tariffs
Officials seek time to assess impact of judgment before finalising first phase of bilateral pact
India and the United States have decided to reschedule the proposed meeting of their chief trade negotiators in Washington DC, which was to finalise the text of the interim trade pact, sources said on Sunday.
The Indian team was scheduled to begin a three-day meeting in the US on February 23. Joint Secretary in the Commerce Ministry Darpan Jain is India’s chief negotiator for the agreement.
The meeting was expected to finalise the legal text for the first phase of the bilateral trade agreement. Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal had earlier said the deal could be signed in March and implemented in April.
The decision to reschedule comes two days after the Supreme Court of the United States ruled against tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump, holding that the power to impose tariffs rests with the US Congress.
Official sources said the meeting was deferred as “time was needed to study the implications of the court judgment in the US”.
“With regard to the visit of the Indian team of negotiators to the US for the trade deal, both sides are of the view that the proposed visit of the Indian chief negotiator and the team be scheduled after each side has had the time to evaluate the latest developments and their implications. The meeting will be rescheduled at a mutually convenient date,” a source said.
Meanwhile, the Opposition party Congress on Saturday urged the Modi-led government not to sign the interim trade deal with the US, calling it a “surrender” of national interests. The party demanded that the agreement be put into “cold storage” and renegotiated, particularly after the US Supreme Court ruling striking down Trump’s global tariffs. Following the court order, Trump on Friday imposed a 10 per cent tariff on all countries, including India, effective February 24 for 150 days. On Saturday, he announced an increase in the duty to 15 per cent.
Earlier this month, India and the US announced that they had reached a framework for an interim trade agreement after Trump issued an executive order removing the 25 per cent punitive tariffs imposed on India over its purchases of Russian oil and reducing reciprocal duties on New Delhi from 25 per cent to 18 per cent.
