India, US To Remain In Talks Over Trade Pact: Govt
The framework reaffirmed the countries' commitment to the broader India-US Bilateral Trade Agreement negotiations.
New Delhi: India and the United States have agreed to continue their engagement on a proposed bilateral trade agreement as the three-day trade talks between officials of both the countries ended on April 23. The discussions on the trade deal were held with a positive and constructive atmosphere to sustain the momentum ahead, the government said on Friday.
In a move to finalise the trade deal, a 12-member Indian team led by Darpan Jain, additional secretary in the department of commerce travelled to Washington D.C for in-person talks with their US counterparts to work out the specifics of the interim pact and advance talks on the larger bilateral trade agreement. It is, however, learnt that negotiations went on well, but flagged some longstanding sensitivities between the officials from both sides.
According to a ministry official, Jain held extensive discussions with the US delegation headed by Brendan Lynch, but the three-day negotiations concluded on Wednesday after focusing on key provisions of the proposed pact. “India has historically maintained strong protections for its agricultural sector, making negotiations particularly challenging. At the same time, there are areas where both sides reached a common ground regarding the deal,” the official said.
Confirming the development, the commerce and industry ministry said in a statement that the meetings were conducted in a constructive and positive spirit, with meaningful and forward-looking discussions enabling progress on key matters. “Both sides agreed to remain engaged to maintain this momentum as they move forward,” the ministry said.
“The officials of both sides discussed several areas, such as market access, non-tariff measures, technical barriers to trade, customs and trade facilitation, investment promotion, economic security alignment and digital trade,” the ministry said.
India and the US issued a joint statement on February 7 finalising a framework for an interim trade agreement regarding reciprocal and mutually beneficial trade. The framework reaffirmed the countries' commitment to the broader India-US Bilateral Trade Agreement negotiations.
