Trade pact negotiations with US making fast progress: Goyal

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Saturday said talks with the US on the proposed trade agreement are progressing fast.

Besides, negotiations for a free trade agreement with Oman are almost finalised, he added.

Unlike the previous UPA government, he said, the Narendra Modi government has inked free trade agreements (FTAs) with developed nations like Mauritius, UAE, Australia, EFTA (European Free Trade Area) and the UK.

The US team will visit India in August for the next round of negotiations for the proposed bilateral trade agreement between the two countries.

India and the US teams concluded the fifth round of talks for the agreement last week in Washington.

Both countries are looking at finalising the first tranche of the proposed bilateral trade agreement by fall (September-October). It aims to more than double bilateral trade to USD 500 billion from USD 191 billion currently.

All FTAs have their own dynamics, and ''we are in a very, very advanced stage of discussions with Oman, EU and USA. We are also discussing with New Zealand, Chile, and Peru...So, we are quite busy right now on many FTAs simultaneously'', Goyal said.

''And each one is getting its requisite attention so that we can expand frontiers of India's International trade in goods and services. We can develop trust between developed nations and India, so that FDI flows can grow,'' the minister said.

''So, the work is going on all these FTAs at a fast pace and in the right direction.'' The online deliberations between India and the US are important as both sides are looking at finalising an interim trade deal before August 1, which marks the end of the suspension period of Trump tariffs imposed on dozens of countries, including India (26 per cent).

When asked if an interim deal is possible before August 1, an official said: ''There could be a possibility''.

On April 2 this year, US President Donald Trump announced high reciprocal tariffs. The implementation of high tariffs was immediately suspended for 90 days till July 9 and later until August 1, as America is negotiating trade deals with various countries.

India has hardened its position on the US demand for duty concessions on agricultural and dairy products. New Delhi has, so far, not given any duty concessions to any of its trading partners in a free trade agreement in the dairy sector.

Certain farmers' associations have urged the government not to include any issues related to agriculture in the trade pact.

India is seeking the removal of this additional tariff (26 per cent). It has also sought the easing of tariffs on steel and aluminium (50 per cent) and the auto sector (25 per cent).

These issues are an important part of the trade pact negotiations.

Against these, India has reserved its right under the WTO (World Trade Organization) norms to impose retaliatory duties.

The country is also seeking duty concessions for labour-intensive sectors, such as textiles, gems and jewellery, leather goods, garments, plastics, chemicals, shrimp, oil seeds, grapes, and bananas, in the proposed trade pact.

On the other hand, the US wants duty concessions on certain industrial goods, automobiles, especially electric vehicles, wines, petrochemical products, agricultural goods, dairy items, apples, tree nuts, and genetically modified crops.

The two countries are looking to conclude talks for the first tranche of the proposed bilateral trade agreement (BTA) by fall (September-October) this year. Before that, they are looking for an interim trade pact.

India's merchandise exports to the US rose 22.8 per cent to USD 25.51 billion in the April-June quarter this fiscal year, while imports rose 11.68 per cent to USD 12.86 billion.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)