Deal Soon? US chief negotiator in India for trade talks

Highlights

New Delhi: Days after US commerce secretary Howard Lutnick said Washington will sort out trade with India, a chief negotiator is arriving in New Delhi...

New Delhi: Days after US commerce secretary Howard Lutnick said Washington will sort out trade with India, a chief negotiator is arriving in New Delhi to continue talks for a bilateral trade agreement between the two countries.

Assistant US trade representative for South and Central Asia Brendan Lynch will hold US-India trade talks with India’s chief negotiator Rajesh Agrawal, who is the special secretary in the department of commerce, on Tuesday.

This follows developments earlier this month, when US President Donald Trump spoke about the “special relationship” the US shares with India, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi “fully reciprocates” the sentiment.

The friendly overtures came at a time when the US has imposed a total tariff of 50% on imports from India, which derailed the negotiations on a Bilateral Trade Agreement between the two countries. The latest round of negotiations was to take place during the last week of August but was indefinitely postponed following the levy of the two-part tariffs on India.

Agrawal said India and the US have been engaged in discussions at various levels — ranging from the team of negotiators to even at the ministerial level — and so Tuesday’s meeting should be seen as a “continuation” of the talks. US Ambassador-designate to India Sergio Gor, during his Senate hearing last week, said that Trump had invited Union Commerce Minister to the US.