Washington, Sep 22 – Union Minister for Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal was in Washington on Monday to move ahead with the trade talks with a view to achieving an early conclusion of a mutually beneficial India-US Bilateral Trade Agreement. Goyal’s trip to the US capital follows the visit of the US team of officials to Delhi on September 16.
The Commerce Ministry said that during the visit of the team of officials from the office of the United States Trade Representative to India, “positive discussions were held on various aspects of the trade deal, and it was decided to intensify efforts in this regard”.
On September 16, a US delegation led by Assistant US Trade Representative for South and Central Asia Brendan Lynch met Indian trade officials headed by Chief Negotiator Rajesh Agrawal in New Delhi amid the thaw in relations following President Donald Trump’s conciliatory posture. Lynch’s visit came against the backdrop of heightened expectations of a trade deal following positive messages by President Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi after days of a bitter stalemate.
Trump said on a Truth Social post on September 9, that talks were continuing and “I feel certain that there will be no difficulty in coming to a successful conclusion for both of our Great Countries”. Calling PM Modi a “great friend”, he said he would be talking to him. PM Modi responded to Trump’s post, saying: “I am confident that our trade negotiations will pave the way for unlocking the limitless potential of the India-US partnership”.
He added that he was looking forward to talking with Trump. However, it is not clear as yet to what extent the US announcement of a $100,000 fee on H-1B visas, which will adversely impact Indian IT engineers working in the US, will influence the trade talks. The 25 per cent penal tariff imposed on India over Russian oil imports is another issue that has been posing problems.
US Ambassador to India-nominee Sergio Gor told a Senate panel considering his nomination last week that India’s Commerce Minister was expected in Washington and would meet US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer.
