US pushes for grand trade pact with India, wants access to agri market
New Delhi, March 7
The US on Friday pitched for a macro, large and grand trade agreement with India, and not ‘product-by-product’ arrangement, to boost bilateral ties between the two countries.
US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said India needed to open its agriculture market, emphasising it could not be “off the table” when the country was negotiating with its largest trading partner.
“Because India is so gigantic, and the US is so gigantic, the right way to do it (trade pact) is a macro, and that’s why we think we can get it done. The US is interested in doing a macro, large-scale, broad-based trade agreement with India that takes everything into account, and that I think it can be done... it’s time to do something big, something grand, something that connects India and the US together, but does it on a broad scale, not product-by-product, but rather the whole thing. Let’s bring India’s tariff policy towards America down,” he said at a media conclave here.
In the agriculture sector, he said the Indian agriculture market had to open up, and it could not just stay closed.
“Now, how do you do that? And the scale by which you do that? Maybe you do quarters. Maybe do limits. You can be smarter when you have your most important trading partner on the other side of the table. You can’t just say...it’s off the table. That’s just not an attractive way of doing business,” US Commerce Secretary Lutnic said.
The right way to do business is to put everything on the table, but do it smartly and do it thoughtfully, he said. Lutnick also said that countries like India have one of the highest tariffs in the world, and that is why US President Trump is talking about imposing reciprocal tariffs.
‘Reduce’ defence trade with russia
US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has asked India to shift defence equipment purchases from Russia to the US. “India has historically bought significant amounts of its military equipment from Russia, and we think that is something that needs to end,” he said.
MEA: looking to cut tariff barriers
India is looking to reduce tariff and non-tariff barriers with the US and strengthen trade in the goods and services sector through the multi-sector bilateral trade agreement that is in the works, the MEA said.
