Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal has said that India is hopeful of reaching a framework trade deal with the US this year itself that should address the tariff issue to the benefit of Indian exporters. He said both countries have been in negotiations for a long time, and the first tranche of a bilateral trade deal was expected by the fall of 2025, but the Trump administration's imposition of tariffs on Indian exports has created hurdles. While noting that the Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) will take time, he said India is engaged in protracted negotiations with the US on a framework trade deal that will address the reciprocal tariff challenge faced by Indian exporters today.
He said India and the US are having two parallel negotiations -- one on a framework trade deal to address tariffs and another on a comprehensive trade deal. He also said the trade deal will be beneficial for Indian exports only when both the 25 per cent tariffs are addressed. He was referring to the 25 per cent tariff imposed on India for not having a trade deal with the US and another 25 per cent tariff slapped on the country for buying Russian oil. He said ‘things have changed and moved a lot from February 13 onwards. When we got into the BTA negotiations, we were on the path to a good, aspirational first tranche by the fall of 2025, but in between, we have seen a lot of changes in the global trade landscape.’
Amid persisting differences in India-US trade talks, he stressed that the country has always stood for its sensitivities and uniqueness. He said ‘so, there are areas which are non-negotiables from our perspective, and I think countries that have negotiated deals with us are very clear about what the things are that India is not open to negotiating.’ He said that India stresses Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in trade deals as trade and investments are two sides of the same coin. In this context, the secretary said that India-EFTA trade envisages foreign investment worth $100 billion over time.
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