India, US eye 'early wins' in trade deal

NEW DELHI: India and the US are eyeing "early mutual wins" to finalise some elements of the proposed bilateral trade agreement (BTA) ahead of the Fall (Sept-Oct) deadline, govt said on Tuesday.

"During the meetings in Washington DC (last week), the team had fruitful discussions on wide ranging subjects covering tariff and non-tariff matters. The team discussed the pathway for concluding the first tranche of the mutually beneficial, multi-sector BTA by Fall of 2025, including through opportunities for early mutual wins. While productive sectoral expert level engagements have taken place through the virtual format, in-person sectoral engagements are planned from May-end," the commerce department said in a statement after officials led by India's chief negotiator Rajesh Agrawal returned from the US.

Govt sources indicated that talks at the end of May will not be the first round of negotiations. While officials have spoken about the possibility of an "early tranche" before the end of the 90-day pause on reciprocal tariffs, this is the first time the govt has disclosed plans for some gains being harvested before Fall.

Industry is complaining that they are in the dark about how the negotiations are progressing and the possible outcome from the proposed deal. The two sides have agreed to terms of reference or modalities for the talks that span 19 chapters. Even that has not been disclosed to industry, citing confidentiality, nor has any feedback been taken from them so far, adding to the elevated levels of uncertainty created by US President Donald Trump's repeated flip-flop on tariffs.

There has been no discussion on the possible rules of origin - how the US and India are going to determine the origin of a product - or even the areas where concessions are proposed to be offered or even sought. So far, it is only the US which has been publicly making demands - be it automobiles, whiskey or farm products. All that govt officials have communicated is that India will seek market access for labour-intensive sectors, which are of interest to it. When contacted, commerce department officials refused to comment.

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