India-US Trade Deal: Piyush Goyal, Jamieson Greer Discuss Next Steps In BTA Negotiations

(MENAFN- Live Mint) Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal held a meeting with US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer on Friday to discuss the next steps in the India-US bilateral trade agreement (BTA) negotiations.

The two leaders met on the sidelines of the 14th ministerial conference (MC14) of the World Trade Organisation at Yaounde, Cameroon. The four-day meet started 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.”

"Exchanged views on the WTOMC14 agenda, next steps in the India-US BTA negotiation and explored ways to further deepen our economic cooperation and bilateral trade ties," Goyal said in the social media post.

India-US trade framework

Last month, India and the U announced that they have finalised a framework for the first phase of the bilateral trade agreement. It has not yet been signed.

India and the US announced a trade deal on February 2. The details of the same was revealed in a joint statemen on February 7.

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""The United States of America (United States) and India are pleased to announce that they have reached a framework for an Interim Agreement regarding reciprocal and mutually beneficial trade (Interim Agreement)," the release read.

US tariff on India

According to the framework, the US had agreed to reduce tariffs on India to 18 per cent.

However, the tariff architecture in the US has changed following its Supreme Court ruling against President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs.

After that, the US President imposed 10 per cent tariffs on all countries for 150 days from February 24.

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In view of these changes, a meeting of the chief negotiators of India and the US has been postponed. They were scheduled to meet last month to finalise the legal text of the pact, which was expected to be signed this month.

An official has earlier stated that the interim trade agreemen between India and the US will be signed once the new global tariff architecture of America is in place.

India-US trade deal interim framework – what's in the deal?

Here are some key highlights from the joint statement released by the US and India on February 7:

1. Under the framework, India will eliminate or reduce tariffs on all US industrial goods and a broad set of agricultural and food products. This will include items such as dried distillers' grains (DDGs), fresh and processed fruit, red sorghum for animal feed, soybean oil, tree nuts, wine and spirits, and other additional products.

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2. Additional market access commitments and support for more resilient supply chains is also part of the interim deal.

3. On its part, the US will apply a reduced reciprocal tariff rate of 18% on Indian exports, with scope for further reductions as negotiations move forward.

4. Items with reduced 18% tariffs include: artisanal products, certain machinery, home decor, leather and footwear, organic chemicals, plastic and rubber, and textiles and apparel.

5. The US will also remove reciprocal tariffs on goods including aircraft parts, gems and diamonds, and generic pharmaceuticals.

6. Both countries have committed to“provide each other preferential market access in sectors of respective interest on a sustained basis”.

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7. Both countries will establish rules of origin that ensure that the benefits of the Agreement accrue predominately to India and the US.

8. As per the joint statement, India also intends to purchase $500 billion of US products over the next 5 years, including: aircraft and aircraft parts, coking coal, energy products, precious metals, and technology products.

9. On 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.

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