India-US trade deal: The Indian delegation’s visit to America for trade deal talks has concluded and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer has called New Delhi a ‘tough nut to crack’. The delegation had traveled to the US to further talks on the first tranche of the India-US trade deal which was first announced by Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in February this year.Under the proposed interim trade deal, the US has lowered tariffs on India from 50% to 18%. In August last year, Trump had imposed a 25% reciprocal tariff on India and an additional 25% penal tariff for India’s crude oil purchases from Russia.A ruling by the Supreme Court of the United States on February 20 struck down the reciprocal tariffs introduced by Donald Trump under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.Following this judgment, India is looking to revisit and revise aspects of the agreement to safeguard its interests within the evolving global tariff framework.
‘India a Tough Nut To Crack’
A 12-member Indian delegation, headed by Darpan Jain, Additional Secretary in the Department of Commerce, engaged in detailed discussions with the US side, led by Brendan Lynch. The talks, which focused on finalising key provisions of the deal, wrapped up after three days on Wednesday, according to a PTI report.Also Read | Iran war: Trump sanctions waiver or not – why India continues to buy Russian oilJamieson Greer reportedly told the Committee on Ways and Means of the US Congress on Wednesday, “India is a tough nut to crack… they’ve protected their agricultural markets for a very long time.”He added, “As part of this deal, they want to protect a lot of that. There are things, though, where I think we can find mutual agreement. DDGs (distillers dried grains) is a good example of this.”His remarks came in response to queries from lawmakers regarding exports of DDGs, soybean meal and ethanol. He noted that discussions with Indian negotiators this week had covered these specific commodities. “Indian trade negotiators are in town this week. So we’ve been talking this week about these issues, including these specific commodities you talked about, DDGs,” Greer said.India and the United States had earlier outlined the framework of the proposed trade pact on February 2, followed by the release of the agreement text on February 7. As part of the arrangement, New Delhi is seeking improved access to American markets, with both countries aiming to expand bilateral trade to $ 500 billion by 2030.