Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Friday discussed the next steps in the India-US bilateral trade agreement (BTA) negotiations with US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer.
The discussions took place during a meeting on the sidelines of the WTO Ministerial Conference at Yaounde, Cameroon.
The two leaders also deliberated upon the issues related to the WTO's meeting. The four-day meet started on March 26.
"Had a very productive discussion with @USTradeRep Jamieson Greer on the sidelines of the WTO Ministerial Conference. Exchanged views on the #WTOMC14 agenda, next steps in the India-US BTA negotiations and explored ways to further deepen our economic cooperation and bilateral trade ties," Goyal said in a social media post.
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Meanwhile, the government informed Parliament on Friday that India and the US have agreed on a framework for an interim trade agreement and this has been designed to "protect domestic sensitivities" while creating new export opportunitie.
Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh, in a written response to a query in Lok Sabha, also said the government of India has taken into account the "interests of farmers" while formulating its approach.
A fortnight ago, Commerce secretary Rajesh Agrawal said that the interim trade agreement between India and the US will be signed once the new global tariff architecture of America is in place.
"International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) tariffs don't exist per se due to US Supreme Court rulings now. Under Article 122, tariffs of 10 per cent exist globally now. Any deal that India signs will be signed against a tariff structure, said Agrawal.
Last month, the two countries announced that they have finalised a framework for the first phase of the bilateral trade agreement.
India and the US announced a trade deal on February 2. A joint statement for the same was released on February 7.
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According to the framework, the US had agreed to reduce tariffs on India to 18 per cent.
However, the tariff architecture in the US has changed following its Supreme Court ruling against President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs. After that, the US President imposed 10 per cent tariffs on all countries for 150 days from February 24.
In view of these changes, a meeting of the chief negotiators of India and the US has been postponed.
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