India races to clinch three-stage trade pact with US before July deadline
After meeting US secretary of commerce, Piyush Goyal said good discussions were held between them to expedite 'first tranche of India-US bilateral trade agreement'
India is working to finalise a three-stage trade agreement with the United States ahead of July, when US President Donald Trump’s retaliatory tariffs are expected to come into effect.
India and the US, who are engaged in trade deal negotiations, are aiming to finalise an initial agreement in a three-stage deal before July. This was disclosed by officials in New Delhi to Bloomberg.
However, there is no clarity if the US has agreed to the deal to progress in three stages.
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Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, meanwhile, who is currently on a four-day visit to the USA, met US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. After the meeting, Goyal posted a picture of the two on X and said that Lutnick and he held "good discussions" to expedite "the first tranche of the India-US bilateral trade agreement".
Three-stage deal
The initial deal might include easier access for industrial goods, some agricultural products, besides lowering other trade barriers, like strict quality control measures, said the news report.
Bloomberg quoting Indian officials (who preferred to be anonymous) said that the second stage of the India-US trade deal will be more detailed and exhaustive. Expected to be finalised between September and November, this stage may involve 19 key areas.
The second stage will possibly be clinched around US President Donald Trump’s possible visit to India for the Quad leaders’ summit.
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A complete agreement will serve as the final part of the deal, which will require the consent of the US Congress. According to the officials, this last stage may be finished next year, added the news report..
Early bird
Shortly after US President Trump took office, Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the White House in February and India became one of the first nations to commence trade discussions with the US. The two leaders committed to increase trade and aimed to finish the first part of the deal by fall.
Since then, India has been actively pushing for some early trade gains before the deadline.
US in no hurry
Indian authorities maintained that negotiations are progressing despite some indications of strain recently. Talking to Fox News a few days, Trump had said that New Delhi was willing to eliminate all tariffs on American goods.
However, he also revealed that Washington is in no immediate rush to finalise a trade agreement between the two nations. Trump used India as a key example of the trade barriers he targeted during his administration.
“They make it almost impossible to do business,” he said. “Do you know that they’re willing to cut 100 per cent of their tariffs for the United States?”
Perfect fit, says Goyal
Meanwhile, earlier in May, during the Columbia India Energy dialogue in New Delhi, Goyal had said that the trade deal conversations with the US was going well. Further, he had said that the US and India are a perfect fit except for one or two products where they compete, India and US are "complementary".
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"At US 83,000 per capita income what the US can produce can never compete with Indian goods made in India. And there are many technologies that are not available in India which I would buy from the US rather than buying from many other non-market economies," said Goyal.
"Frankly, this is a partnership that’s truly contemporary, a win-win for both and will be the defining partnership in the coming months and years, given the very sheer scale of the America economy today and the delta of opportunity that India offers as it grows from a 4-trillion dollar economy to a USD 35 trillion economy by 2047," Goyal asserted.
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