US Trade Talks with India: Challenges and Opportunities Ahead
Negotiations on Bilateral Trade Agreement Conclude
Washington: The US Trade Representative, Jamieson Greer, remarked on the complexities of negotiating with India as a delegation from New Delhi concluded discussions regarding a bilateral trade agreement with the United States.
The 12-member team, headed by Darpan Jain, Additional Secretary in the Department of Commerce, engaged in detailed discussions with the US representatives, led by Brendan Lynch, Assistant USTR for South and Central Asia.
These negotiations wrapped up on Wednesday after three days of talks.
Greer noted the challenges posed by India's long-standing protection of its agricultural markets, stating, "India is a tough nut to crack... they’ve protected their agricultural markets for a very long time."
He emphasized that while India aims to safeguard its agricultural interests, there are areas where both nations could reach a consensus, citing distillers dried grains (DDGs) as a potential point of agreement.
Responding to inquiries from lawmakers regarding DDGs, which serve as a high-protein feed for livestock, Greer confirmed that US negotiators were actively discussing specific commodities with their Indian counterparts.
He mentioned, "Indian trade negotiators are in town this week. So we’ve been talking this week about these issues, including these specific commodities you talked about, DDGs."
The framework for the bilateral trade agreement was announced on February 2, with the text of the deal released on February 7.
India is aiming for preferential access to US markets as both countries target a bilateral trade volume of USD 500 billion by 2030.
Under the agreement framework, the US has committed to lowering tariffs on Indian goods from 50% to 18%. Additionally, it has lifted the 25% tariffs on Indian imports related to Russian oil, with plans to further reduce the remaining tariffs.
However, following a ruling by the US Supreme Court on February 20 against Trump's reciprocal tariffs imposed under the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), India is now looking to adjust and revise the agreement to safeguard its interests within the new global tariff landscape.