India-US trade deal: America promises India a tariff advantage over rivals
PTC Web Desk: India has been told by the United States that it will get a tariff advantage over other competing economies under the proposed trade agreement. A senior government official shared this with ANI on Saturday, while talks on the first part of the deal and the larger pact carry on.
The official said the US has given this assurance, but added that how big the advantage turns out to be will depend on the final tariff structure. “We will have to see how the tariff framework unfolds,” the official noted.
India is also waiting to hear the result of a second investigation that the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) has started against the country.
What the timeline looks like
India wants to wrap up the first tranche before the current financial year ends. The official said talks on this first package and on the wider Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) are moving side by side.
Services will not be part of the first tranche. They will be taken up in the second phase, as part of the bigger agreement.
The final deal is expected to be a legal text with annexures, including a separate chapter on customs and trade facilitation. On this topic, a two-member US team visited India on November 2 and 3 for talks, according to another Commerce Ministry official who spoke to ANI earlier.
Overall, both sides are going step by step. They want some quick gains from the first tranche while the tougher issues in the broader deal are discussed.
Jaishankar: 'Last stretch'
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar also spoke about the deal on Saturday at the HT Leadership Summit. He said most of the issues have been settled and that the agreement could be concluded soon, with talks still on to sort out what remains.
He described the talks as nearing the “finishing line.” According to him, several of the pending concerns are not on India’s side, as more changes have happened on the American side. Asked about the progress, he said it is India’s hope and in many ways its expectation, that the two countries are in the last stretch.
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- PTC NEWS
