"Agriculture Issues Most Sensitive": US Ex Envoy To India On Interim Trade Deal

Atul Keshap, president of the United States India Business Council (USIBC), has pointed out that agriculture issues are always the most sensitive issues in any trade negotiation, and the India-US interim trade deal which is expected to be announced anytime now will have to navigate this aspect of the deal, "no matter what it may look like".

The USIBC is dedicated to the growth of commercial ties between the world's two largest democracies.

Mr Keshap told NDTV that USIBC and all member companies are cheering, as is the US Chamber of Commerce, over the interim trade deal.

"We are hoping for a meaningful trade deal between the world's two greatest democracies. So agriculture will of course be sensitive... This is because farmers occupy an enormously important cultural space in all of our countries," he said.

"Look at the Japanese rice farmers, for example. And farming and agriculture hit very close to the home and the heart, and these are also extremely important political constituencies. So of course the trade negotiation with regard to any agricultural issues will be the most sensitive," he added.

"However, there is virtue in having these conversations, and I would just add that it's been years since we've last been in a serious trade negotiation. We came close about four or five years ago. I'm hoping that this time we'll bring it over the line," the retired career senior Foreign Service Officer who has also served as Charge d'Affaires at the US embassy in Delhi said.

According to him, there is virtue in coming to a reasonable outcome that is good for both countries. The latest interim trade deal is just the first in what could be a series of trade agreements between the US and India.

"... I am very hopeful that the negotiators will be able to come to some form of agreement that allows us to create a pathway and a foundation for even more such talks and even more such agreements... This is a very sensitive negotiation. It involves both sides stretching their comfort zones," Mr Keshap said.

"It is, I think, extremely important strategically for the United States and India to have a trade agreement, no matter what it may look like. I think that our shared adversaries are watching and hoping that we fail. We cannot fail.

"We must succeed. We are compelled by the geostrategic turbulence of the moment to ensure that we send a strong signal to the entire world that the US and India are still working to build their relationship. Indeed, if you look at Prime Minister [Narendra] Modi and President [Donald] Trump's aspiration that we hit $500 billion in bilateral trade, we are far short of the mark. So this deal, I feel, has to happen, and I pray that it will happen, and I think that it'll be the first of many to come," Mr Keshap said.

While India is seeking greater market access for its labour-intensive goods, the US wants duty concessions for its agricultural products. These talks are important as the suspension of US reciprocal tariffs is ending on July 9. The two sides are looking at finalising the talks before that.