US Negotiators In India To Revive Trade Deal Talks Amid Trump Tariff Overhang
The meeting on Tuesday is seen as a key step toward finalising the first tranche of the India-US trade deal by year-end.
A team of US negotiators will hold discussions with Indian officials in New Delhi on Tuesday to revive talks on a bilateral trade deal. The delegation is led by Chief Negotiator Brendan Lynch, the Assistant US Trade Representative (USTR) for South and Central Asia. They arrived in the national capital late Monday.
The US team will hold closed door talks with the chief Indian negotiator Rajesh Agrawal on the proposed India-US Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) after a meeting planned for late August was stalled. The talks are expected to create the ground for the sixth round of Indo-US negotiations in the coming weeks, as per government sources.
The trade negotiations come in the backdrop of the Trump administration's 50% tariff on Indian goods that includes a 25% levy as a penalty for purchasing Russian oil that New Delhi has slammed as 'unjustified'.
The meeting is seen as a key step toward finalising the first tranche of the trade deal by the year-end, as committed by President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Modi in February.
Lynch, who previously served as Deputy Assistant USTR and Director for India, has managed some of the most sensitive aspects of the bilateral trade relationship. His early career focused on promoting US agricultural trade interests in global forums, including negotiating food safety standards and market access — issues that remain central to India-US discussions."
Before joining USTR, he worked as an International Trade Analyst at the US International Trade Commission, where he advised the US Congress on trade barriers.
Key Agendas
Tariff and non-tariff barriers across agricultural products, energy purchases, intellectual property protections, and digital trade are in play for India-US trade talks.
Both sides are also working on easing regulatory barriers and addressing concerns of US firms in areas such as e-commerce, medical devices, and agriculture.
India is expected to stick to its red lines on agriculture and dairy, to protect the interests of MSMEs, farmers, livestock holders and fishermen.
Ahead of the talks, White House Trade Advisor Peter Navarro kept his criticism of India sharp, even as Trump has struck a conciliatory tone in recent days. In an interview with CNBC on Monday, Navarro said talks on a stalled trade deal were progressing but marked apprehensions over India's "steep" tariffs.
"India is coming to the table. Prime Minister Modi sent out a very conciliatory, nice, constructive tweet and President Trump responded to that. But as a practical matter, we know that on the trade side, they have the highest tariffs of any major country. They have very high non-tariff barriers," Navarro remarked.
