Indian negotiators to travel to US for trade pact talks next week amid Donald Trump's extended deadline: Report
This comes after US President Donald Trump remained optimistic about a trade pact with India while escalating his tariff war with the rest of the world.
Negotiations for an India-US trade deal agreement are continuing, and a commerce ministry team will soon visit Washington for another round of talks on the proposed pact.
According to a government official quoted in a PTI report on Thursday, the negotiations on the interim pact and the first phase of the final bilateral trade agreement (BTA) will take place during the proposed visit.
While the final schedule of the visit is yet to be finalised, sources quoted in the report have indicated that the team's visit to the US capital is expected as soon as next week.
This comes after US President Donald Trump remained optimistic about a trade pact with India while escalating his tariff war with the rest of the world. He recently indicated that India could join the countries that have secured a trade pact with the US, saying that a deal was ‘close’.
Since Trump's announcement of tariffs in April, only the United Kingdom and Vietnam have secured a trade deal.
The visit gains even more significance as the US has extended the imposition of additional import duties (26 per cent in India's case) until August 1.
The Indian negotiations team is led by chief negotiator Rajesh Agrawal. The team has already travelled three times to Washington and returned from the US capital after concluding talks on the pact earlier this month.
Agrawal said earlier on Thursday that New Delhi is trying to finalise a deal with the US.
Donald Trump threatens additional tariffs on BRICS nations
Right ahead of a much-anticipated trade deal with Washington, US President Donald Trump issued a fresh warning to India, threatening additional tariffs over its continued participation in the BRICS.
Speaking on Tuesday, Donald Trump said India could face an additional 10% tariff alongside other members of BRICS — a bloc of emerging economies he has labelled “anti-American”
Trump's comments follow a two-day BRICS summit in Brazil, where leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, issued a joint statement opposing trade-distorting tariffs. While Brazil and South Africa hit back publicly, India has so far chosen silence.
