India-US trade deal talks: Both countries conclude fifth round of negotiations, aim for interim deal before August 1. Photo/MEA X Account.
India-US Trade Deal: India and the US, according to latest reports, have completed the fifth round of Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) negotiation talks in Washington. The talks took place over four days from July 14 to 17 and were led by India’s chief negotiator and Special Secretary in the Department of Commerce.
Confirming the end of the talks, an official told PTI, “the Indian team is coming back.”
The latest round of negotiations holds particular significance as both nations are working to finalize an interim trade deal before August 1.By the end of this the suspension period of the Trump-era tariffs will end, which imposed steep additional duties of up to 26 percent on several countries, including India, Rajesh Agrawal.
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US President Donald Trump first announced the reciprocal tariffs on April 2 this year. While these tariffs were originally scheduled for immediate implementation, they were temporarily suspended for 90 days until July 9. The suspension was later extended to August 1 to provide time for ongoing trade talks with multiple countries, including India.
According to the reports, key sectors such as agriculture and automobiles featured prominently were discussed during the fifth round of talks. Non-market economies and the export control category known as SCOMET, which stands for Special Chemicals, Organisms, Materials, Equipment, and Technologies. were also disccussed during this round of talks.
India has taken a firm stance against US demands for duty concessions in the agriculture and dairy sectors. New Delhi has never included dairy-related duty concessions in any of its free trade agreements so far. Domestic farming groups have also urged the Indian government to exclude agricultural matters entirely from the ongoing trade negotiations.
As part of the proposed trade deal, India is seeking the removal of the additional 26 percent tariffs, along with reductions in duties on steel and aluminium, which are currently at 50 percent, and on automobiles, set at 25 percent. India has also reserved its right to impose retaliatory duties under World Trade Organization (WTO) norms.
In addition, India is pushing for preferential access for several of its labour-intensive sectors. These include textiles, gems and jewellery, leather goods, garments, plastics, chemicals, shrimp, oil seeds, grapes, and bananas.
In contrast, the United States is seeking duty concessions from India on industrial goods, automobile, particularly electric vehicles, wines, petrochemical products, agricultural produce, dairy items, apples, tree nuts, and genetically modified crops.
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Zubair Amin is a Senior Journalist at NewsX with over seven years of experience in reporting and editorial work. He has written for leading national and international publications, including Foreign Policy Magazine, Al Jazeera, The Economic Times, The Indian Express, The Wire, Article 14, Mongabay, News9, among others. His primary focus is on international affairs, with a strong interest in US politics and policy. He also writes on West Asia, Indian polity, and constitutional issues. Zubair tweets at zubaiyr.amin
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