Trade deal on, will respond to US action, says India

NEW DELHI: Govt is examining the legal and economic implications of the two section 301 probes launched by the US Trade Representative, while asserting that it remains engaged with the Donald Trump administration on the bilateral trade deal.

“It is reiterated that the two sides remain engaged for a mutually beneficial trade agreement,” a commerce department spokesperson said.




Govt officials said that chief negotiators have held several rounds of discussion and the pending issues are also being resolved. “We are trying to see that we keep the agreement ready, but signing will only happen at an opportune time, because this agreement is based on comparative advantage, preferential access to the US market,” a senior official said.

The officials said that India or other countries that have agreed to deals, will not sign the agreements once there is clarity on how Trump intends to impose tariffs and the extent of levies.

The US tariffs are not going away and will be calibrated and placed at a level where India is going to get a comparative advantage vis-a-vis its competitors in the US market, an official added.

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