NEW DELHI: After a considerable pause, the trade talks between India and US gained momentum after both countries resumed high-level negotiations on their long-pending bilateral trade agreement on Tuesday, signalling intent to push for an early conclusion of the deal.
A delegation from the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR), led by Chief Negotiator Brendan Lynch, met senior officials from the Department of Commerce, headed by Rajesh Agarwal, Special Secretary, Department of Commerce.
In a statement issued after the meeting on Tuesday, the Department of Commerce said the discussions were “positive and forward-looking,” underlining the enduring importance of the partnership between the two economies. “It was decided to intensify efforts to achieve early conclusion of a mutually beneficial trade agreement,” it added.
While the talks around a bilateral trade agreement between India and the US started on a positive note as Donald Trump came to power, soon tensions arose between the countries when Washington imposed a 50% tariff on several Indian exports effective from August 27. With Trump announcing the additional tariff on August 6, the scheduled visit of the US team to India for trade discussions on August 25 was cancelled.
Trump’s additional tariff measures on India came as a penalty for buying Russian oil. However, there was a gradual change in the sentiments between both sides with Prime Minister Narendra Modi describing US President Donald Trump as a “dear friend” in a social media post, after Trump expressed positive sentiments about India.