The US Trade delegation led by deputy US Trade Representative Rick Switzer is currently visiting India for trade talks. Addressing the media in Mumbai, the Minister said that negotiations are progressing well with substantive discussions held over five rounds of negotiations. While he clarified that while the current visit isn’t a negotiating round, he added that a deal is only done when both sides stand to benefit, and that it shouldn’t be negotiated with a deadline to avoid mistakes.
Government sources had earlier indicated that the US team is expected to discuss tariffs even as both sides look forward to making strong progress towards addressing the issue. India is expected to be represented by Joint Secretary Darpan Jain in the talks. The visit has come less than a week after a visit by the Russian President Vladimir Putin along with a Ministerial and business delegation.
On 18th November, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal had said that there’s no hiatus in the India-US relationship which continues to be important and strategic for both the countries. With both sides recently having signed a 10-year defence pact, the Minister had said that the comprehensive India-US partnership has many elements, and every element may not run at the same speed. The Minister had emphasised that the India-US partnership remains strong, stable and continuously expanding across strategic and economic sectors, adding that there is no cause for concern regarding the bilateral relationship and reiterated that the friendship between the two nations stands on firm pillars of democracy, diversity and a shared developmental vision.
Stating that the United States views India as a trusted partner, and both countries remain committed to expanding trade and commerce, the Minister had noted that negotiations are a continuous process and India will safeguard its interests while balancing the sensitivities of farmers, fishermen, small industries and businesses. While the Minister quipped “Parivar mein bhi kabhi kabhi thodi nok jhonk toh hoti rehti hai” (Squabbles are common even within a family), he had told the gathering that “You’ll hear the good news when the deal becomes equitable and balanced”. Indicating that India wants to benchmark itself with developed and advanced economies, he said that India had performed admirably during the pandemic as well as during the 1999 US sanctions.
On 18th October, government sources had indicated that both the negotiating teams were engaging positively, with progress having been made in all discussions and “no major differences” between both the sides. India’s Chief Negotiator Rajesh Agrawal had gone to the US in October where discussions took place on bilateral commitments. Despite 50% tariffs imposed on imports by the United States, India’s exports to the US rose to $45.82 billion in the 1st half of the current FY, 13.3% more than $40.42 billion in same period last year. The Commerce Ministry had further said that India would like to diversify its energy import portfolio, subject to availability at the right price, stating that India can import more crude oil and natural gas worth $12-$13 billion from the US without altering configuration of refineries.
