A team of negotiators from the Trump administration led by Deputy US Trade Representative Rick Switzer plans to travel to India next week to continue talks on a trade agreement, according to a US official.
The official, who confirmed the plans on condition of anonymity, did not offer further details about the delegation's visit.
The government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been eager to finalise an initial deal with President Donald Trump's administration to lower the 50 per cent tariffs on Indian goods, which have hampered key sectors of the country's economy.
"We are very optimistic and hopeful that we should find some solution this calendar year," Indian Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal said at an industry event last week. "What needs to come out first is a framework trade deal which is able to address the reciprocal tariffs."
Washington and New Delhi have been working on a trade understanding that would be implemented in multiple stages, with the first phase addressing the retaliatory duties Trump imposed on products from India. The 50 per cent rate includes charges the US president applied as retribution for India's purchases of Russian oil.
After tensions flared earlier this year, Trump has spoken more positively about Modi and praised his decision to scale back imports of crude from Russia. That's opened the door to potential tariff relief.
Trump said last month he would lower duties on Indian products "at some point" and that the two sides were getting "pretty close" to a trade agreement. Teams from the two countries have met multiple times in recent months, and officials in New Delhi have expressed cautious optimism that a deal is in sight.
The US is India's largest export market, and the high import taxes have hit labour-intensive sectors hard, including textiles, leather, footwear and jewellery.
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