US Team To Land Today, Stalled Trade Talks Likely To Resume: Sources

Talks over an India-United States bilateral trade agreement - stalled over access to India's price-sensitive agriculture and dairy markets - will resume tomorrow, sources told NDTV Monday afternoon, with American negotiator Brendan Lynch and his team expected in Delhi tonight.

A senior Commerce Ministry official said Tuesday's talks will be a 'precursor' to the sixth round of talks, which had been scheduled for late-August but were pushed back, indefinitely, amid tension after US President Donald Trump's 50 per cent tariff on Indian imports.

Mr Lynch is the US' chief trade envoy and will sit across the table from Rajesh Agrawal, India's chief negotiator and Special Secretary in the Department of Commerce.

Last week Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal indicated the first set of deals should be finalised by November. He told reporters, "... since March, discussions have been going on... in a very good environment... progress is being made and both sides are satisfied with that progress."

Confirmation of resumption of talks was also provided by Donald Trump; praising his "very good friend" Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he said India and the US "are continuing negotiations to address trade barriers... (and) there will be no difficulty in coming to a successful conclusion".

RECAP | With Tariff Clouds Hanging, Fresh India-US Trade Talks Soon: Sources

Mr Modi responded warmly; he said he "deeply appreciates and fully reciprocates" the US President's sentiments and positive assessment of India-US bilateral relations.

But the fact he did not refer to Donald Trump as his 'friend' raised eyebrows.

India and the US have been locked in talks over a new trade agreement since March, spurred by Mr Trump calling Delhi a 'very big tariff abuser' and hitting Indian exports with a 50 per cent duty; this included a 25 per cent 'penalty' for buying Russian oil and 'feeding' the war on Ukraine.

India firmly rejected that narrative, calling the tariffs "unreasonable, unfair, and unjust" and pointing out the US and other Western countries also continue to purchase from Russia.

Trade deal talks were put on the backburner as the row over the tariffs - which are expected to affect up to $48 billion of India's exports to the US, government sources said - gathered steam.

Hours before Mr Lynch and Mr Agrawal sit down at the table, Washington kept up the tariff pressure, with US Commerce Minister Howard Lutnick declaring India could lose access to his country's market if it continues to refuse to purchase American-grown corn.

READ | Russian Oil, American Corn: How US Is Using Tariffs Against India

"India brags they have 1.4 billion people. Why won't 1.4 billion people buy one bushel of US corn? Doesn't that rub you the wrong way that they sell everything to us, and they won't buy our corn? They put tariffs on everything," he complained to American news website Axios.

On the tariff front, India has said it does not expect the additional duties to significantly impact the economy, particularly since efforts are being made to diversify export markets by reaching out to the United Kingdom and other European countries, and also Japan and West Asia.

READ | Expand Export Markets, Boost Local Demand: India's Trump Tariffs Plan

On the trade deal front, India has said there will be no compromise, that it will not allow cheaper American goods to dilute markets that feed and provide jobs for crores of farmers, livestock holders, and fishermen and women, most of whom operate at a subsistence level.

In addition, India has also nixed proposals to reduce tariffs on products like corn, soybeans, apples, almonds, and ethanol. Delhi believes allowing this will have affect Indian farmers.

Keeping the US at bay on these topics is also necessary, India believes, to protect agriculture-based MSMEs, which are involved in a range of pre- and post-harvest activities, livestock production and care, food processing, and assorted agri-services.

Prime Minister Modi has made it clear his government will not budge on this point.

In his Independence Day speech from Delhi's Red Fort, he said, referring to himself in the third person to ramp up the drama quotient, "Modi is standing like a wall against any harmful policy related to the farmers, fishermen and cattle herders... India will never accept any compromise."

In August a senior US official warned differences could not be resolved overnight to arrive at a trade deal. "Our challenges with India... they've always been a pretty closed market... (and) there are a host of other kind of geopolitical issues," the unnamed US official told Reuters.

India has never given any duty concessions to any of its trading partners, including Australia and Switzerland, with whom it has signed trade agreements.

WIth input from agencies

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