New Delhi: The United States delegation is scheduled to arrive in India on August 25 for the sixth round of negotiations on the proposed bilateral trade agreement, an official confirmed on Tuesday. Though the team is coming at the end of next month, both sides remain engaged to iron out differences for an interim trade deal before August 1, which marks the end of the suspension period of tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump on dozens of countries, including India (26 per cent). “The US team is visiting for the sixth round of talks,” the official stated, adding that both sides remain engaged to work toward an interim arrangement ahead of the deadline. US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, speaking to CNBC on Monday, noted that further discussions would be required. “We continue to speak with our Indian counterparts, we’ve always had very constructive discussions with them,” he said, leaving open the possibility of a late agreement.
If an accord is not reached or the suspension extended, Indian exporters could face an additional 16 per cent duty on top of the existing 10 per cent. The two countries concluded the fifth round of talks in Washington last week, led by India’s chief negotiator Rajesh Agrawal and Assistant US Trade Representative Brendan Lynch.
The talks are taking place in the backdrop of tariffs announced by former US President Donald Trump on April 2 this year. The reciprocal duties, initially set to take effect immediately, were suspended for 90 days until July 9, and later extended until August 1 while negotiations continued. India has resisted US demands for duty concessions on agriculture and dairy products. Farmer groups have urged that agriculture not be included in the trade pact. New Delhi is seeking removal of the additional 26 per cent tariff, along with easing duties on steel and aluminium (50 per cent) and automobiles (25 per cent).
Under WTO rules, India has maintained its right to impose retaliatory duties. It is also pushing for tariff relief in labour‑intensive sectors such as textiles, gems and jewellery, leather goods, garments, plastics, chemicals, seafood, oilseeds, grapes, and bananas.
The US side is pressing for concessions on industrial goods, automobiles—particularly electric vehicles—wines, petrochemicals, agricultural goods, dairy, apples, tree nuts, and genetically modified crops. Both countries aim to finalise the first tranche of the bilateral trade agreement by September‑October, with hopes of securing an interim deal beforehand.
In the April–June quarter, India’s merchandise exports to the US rose 22.8 per cent to $25.51 billion, while imports increased 11.68 per cent to $12.86 billion.with agency inputs