India-US Trade Talks: Positive Progress & Partnership

Abu Dhabi, Sep 18 (PTI) Trade talks between India and the US are progressing and is moving in the right direction, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Thursday.

He said Assistant US Trade Representative for South and Central Asia Brendan Lynch was in New Delhi on September 16 for daylong talks with Indian official team.

"Talks are moving positively... it's moving in right direction... India and the US are natural partners... Talks are making good progress and in right direction," he told reporters here.

He also said negotiations are going on and there is no trade fiction.

"Negotiations are going on, and we look at it as a situation. It's not a friction. America is our trusted partner," Goyal added.

The commerce ministry has stated that daylong discussions with the visiting US team on a bilateral trade deal were positive, and both sides agreed to push for an early and mutually beneficial conclusion of the agreement.

"It was decided to intensify efforts to achieve early conclusion of a mutually beneficial trade agreement," the ministry has said in a statement after a seven-hour meeting with US officials.

The talks were important as the US has imposed a steep 50 per cent tariff on Indian goods.

This was the first visit by a high-ranking US trade official after the imposition of a 25 per cent tariff and an additional 25 per cent penalty on Indian goods entering the American market for buying Russian crude oil.

In February, leaders of the two countries directed officials to negotiate a proposed Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA).

It was planned to conclude the first tranche of the pact by the fall of 2025. So far, five rounds of negotiations have been held, and talks for the sixth round, which were scheduled from August 25-29, were postponed following the imposition of the high import duties.