India in advance stage of talks for trade pact with US: Goyal

New Delhi: India is at an advanced stage of negotiations for a bilateral trade agreement with the US, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Monday.

US Deputy Trade Representative Rick Switzer was recently here with his team to take stock of these talks.

The two-day talks concluded on December 11.

“We are already at an advanced stage in our discussions with the US,” Goyal said here while talking to the media about the conclusion of negotiations for the India-New Zealand free trade agreement.

He also said that India has so far finalised FTAs with three members of the Five Eyes (FVEY) alliance - Australia, UK and New Zealand.

The five countries of the intelligence sharing network are Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the UK, and the US.

India is also in the process of resuming talks for a trade agreement with Canada.

“We are soon going to launch discussions for the ToR (terms of reference) with Canada also,” Goyal said adding “this reflects the growing strategic importance of India in world geopolitics”.

The India-US trade pact talks are crucial as both the countries are working to finalise the first tranche of the Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA).

The talks are also important as the Trump administration has imposed steep 50 per cent tariffs on Indian goods entering American markets.

The Indian industry and exporters are eagerly waiting for the conclusion of the negotiations and announcement of the deal, as the high import duties are hurting their shipments to America.

Though they are exploring other markets to maintain their export profits, the US is a key destination for them as it accounts for about 18 per cent of the country’s exports. As per experts, resolution of these tariffs would be key to firming up the first phase of the trade deal.

As part of the pact, the US is seeking duty concessions on agri products like almonds, corn and apples, and industrial goods. India has strongly opposed any concessions on the agri and dairy sectors. India has stated that it will not compromise the interests of farmers and MSMEs.

In February, leaders of the two countries directed officials to negotiate an agreement. It was planned to conclude the first tranche of the pact by the fall of 2025.

So far, six rounds of negotiations have been held. The agreement aims to more than double bilateral trade to $500 billion by 2030, from the current $191 billion.