Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal met US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer on Friday to discuss next steps in India-US Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) negotiations.
The two leaders met on the sidelines of the 14th Ministerial Conference (MC14) of the World Trade Organization in Yaounde, Cameroon. The four-day meeting began on March 26.
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In a post on X, Piyush Goyal said he had “a very productive discussion with @USTradeRep Jamieson Greer on the sidelines of the WTO Ministerial Conference.”
“We exchanged views on the WTOMC14 agenda, next steps in India-US BTA negotiations and explored ways to further deepen our economic cooperation and bilateral trade ties,” Goyal said in a social media post.
India-US trade framework
Last month, India and the US announced that they had finalized the framework for the first phase of a bilateral trade agreement. It has not been signed yet.
India and the US announced the trade deal on February 2. Details of the same were revealed in a joint statement on February 7.
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“The United States of America (US) and India are pleased to announce that they have reached a framework for an Interim Agreement on Mutual and Mutually Beneficial Trade (Interim Agreement),” the statement said.
US Tariff on India
Under the framework, the US agreed to cut tariffs on India to 18 percent.
However, the tariff architecture in the US has changed following the Supreme Court ruling against President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs.
Then the US president imposed 10 percent tariffs on all countries for 150 days from February 24.
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In view of these changes, the meeting between the chief negotiators of India and the US has been postponed. They were due to meet last month to finalize the legal text of the pact, which was due to be signed this month.
The official had earlier said that an interim trade agreement between India and the US would be signed once America’s new global tariff architecture is in place.
India-US Interim Framework for Trade Agreement – What’s in the Agreement?
Here are some key moments from the joint statement issued by the US and India on February 7:
1. Under this framework, India will eliminate or reduce tariffs on all US manufactured goods and a wide range of agricultural and food products. This will include items such as dried distillers grains (DDG), fresh and processed fruit, red sorghum for animal feed, soybean oil, nuts, wine and spirits and other ancillary products.
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2. The interim agreement also includes additional commitments on market access and support for more resilient supply chains.
3. The US will apply a reduced reciprocal tariff rate of 18% on Indian exports, with scope for further reductions as negotiations progress.
4. Items with reduced 18% duties include: handicrafts, some machinery, home decorations, leather and footwear, organic chemicals, plastics and rubber, and textiles and clothing.
5. The US will also eliminate reciprocal tariffs on goods including aircraft parts, gems and diamonds, and generic drugs.
6. Both countries pledged to “grant each other preferential market access in sectors of respective interest on a permanent basis”.
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7. The two countries will implement rules of origin that will ensure that the benefits of the agreement accrue mainly to India and the US.
8. According to the joint statement, India also intends to buy $500 billion worth of US products over the next 5 years, including: aircraft and their components, coking coal, energy products, precious metals and technology products.
9. For its part, the US will significantly increase trade in technology products, including graphics processing units (GPUs) and other goods used in data centers, and expand joint technology cooperation.
