Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal (Img-Internet)
New Delhi: US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and India's Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal appeared to draw closer to a trade pact as Greer wound up his Three day tour to the Indian capital. Officials on both sides described the negotiations as entering their final phase after days of intensive discussions.
However, a final print on the pact may still take time as both sides continue to have sticking points, according to sources. A statement issued by Piyush Goyal's office said " Both sides noted substantial progress by negotiating teams in recent months and welcomed momentum from successive technical and ministerial-level engagements. Discussions focused on pathways to conclude an interim agreement as an important milestone towards a comprehensive Bilateral Trade Agreement".
Diplomats and trade negotiators involved in the talks described the outcome as a near-complete framework agreement requiring only "final touches" before conclusion, but some of them also pointed out that the pact was taking time as it was "buffeted by tariff disputes, judicial interventions in the US and growing geopolitical uncertainty".
"The significance of Greer's visit lay less in any breakthrough than in its timing. With a July 24 deadline looming for the expiry of Washington's temporary 10 per cent universal tariff regime, negotiators are facing mounting pressure to settle the contours quickly", officials said.
The talks have acquired urgency following an unexpected intervention by the US Supreme Court earlier this year, which stuck down the legal basis for a series of Trump-era reciprocal tariffs.
The ruling forced the White House to recalibrate its tariff policy and reopen trade negotiations with several partners, including India. Before the Court's decision, Washington had agreed to lower tariffs on Indian goods to 18 per cent from 50 per cent. The subsequent shift to a temporary universal 10 per cent duty, however, altered the " negotiating landscape", according to officials.
