Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal is set to lead a team of Indian negotiators to the US from May 17-20 for trade talks, as the two countries push ahead for the first tranche of a bilateral trade agreement.
During the visit, Goyal is scheduled to meet with US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick over the potential trade pact..
The visit by Goyal also comes in the backdrop of China agreeing to join talks with the US, and the two have already slashed reciprocal tariffs on each other by 115 percentage points each. The US-China trade pact, if concluded, may pose a challenge to India's position as an alternate manufacturing superpower.
India and the US, in the upcoming days, will look to build upon "opportunities for early mutual wins" that were discussed between an Indian delegation from the Department of Commerce and representatives from the Office of the US Trade Representative in Washington from April 23–25, following the earlier bilateral discussions held in March in New Delhi.
With Goyal's visit, in-person sectoral engagements are also set to begin, in-line with the Indian government's proposed timeline.
The negotiations are a part of the countries' efforts to expand bilateral trade to $500 billion by 2030, as envisioned in the BTA. The terms of reference for the BTA have been finalised, which include around 19 chapters covering issues like tariffs, goods, services, rules of origin, non-tariff barriers, and customs facilitation.
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