India-US trade deal: Fifth round of talks for BTA accomplished; both countries aim to finalise interim deal ahead of Trump’s tariff deadline

India and the United States have concluded the fifth round of negotiations for the proposed Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) in Washington. The talks, which befell over 4 days from July 14 to 17, have been led by India’s chief negotiator and particular secretary within the division of commerce, Rajesh Agrawal.“The Indian team is coming back,” an official confirmed the conclusion of discussions to PTI. The newest round of negotiations holds explicit significance as both nations are aiming to finalise an interim trade deal earlier than August 1. This deadline marks the tip of the suspension interval of the Trump-era tariffs, steep further duties of up to 26% imposed on a number of countries, together with India. US President Donald Trump had initially introduced the reciprocal tariffs on April 2 this yr. While they have been scheduled for speedy implementation, the duties have been quickly suspended for 90 days till July 9, and later prolonged once more till August 1, permitting time for ongoing trade negotiations with a number of countries. During the fifth round of talks, key sectors akin to agriculture and cars featured prominently. The discussions additionally coated issues associated to non-market economies and the export management class generally known as SCOMET (Special Chemicals, Organisms, Materials, Equipment, and Technologies). India has taken a agency stance in opposition to US calls for for responsibility concessions within the agriculture and dairy sectors. New Delhi by no means included dairy-related responsibility concessions in any of its free trade agreements to date. Domestic farming teams have additionally urged the Indian authorities to exclude agricultural points fully from the continued trade negotiations. As half of the proposed trade pact, India is pushing for the elimination of the extra 26% tariffs, together with reductions in duties on metal and aluminium (at present at 50%) and the car sector (25%). The nation has additionally reserved its proper to impose retaliatory duties below World Trade Organization (WTO) norms. India is searching for preferential entry for a number of of its labour-intensive sectors, together with textiles, gems and jewelry, leather-based items, clothes, plastics, chemical substances, shrimp, oil seeds, grapes, and bananas. In distinction, the United States is urgent for responsibility concessions on industrial items, cars, notably electrical automobiles, in addition to wines, petrochemical merchandise, agricultural produce, dairy gadgets, apples, tree nuts, and genetically modified crops. Both countries hope to conclude negotiations on the primary section of the BTA by autumn this yr, focusing on September or October. Until then, the speedy precedence stays securing an interim settlement. In phrases of trade efficiency, India’s merchandise exports to the US grew by 22.8 % to $25.51 billion within the April–June quarter of the present fiscal yr. Imports from the US throughout the identical interval rose by 11.68 per cent to $12.86 billion.