New Delhi: The US team is likely to visit India next month for trade talks with their counterparts here, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Thursday.
The Indian side visited Washington, DC, in April for an in-person round of meetings with their US counterparts to finalise the details of the interim pact and take forward the negotiations under the broader bilateral trade agreement (BTA).
When asked if the US chief negotiator for the BTA will accompany US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Goyal said: “he’s not coming with him, but there is some plan for them to come next month”.
The Minister confirmed that negotiations are currently underway with the US government to bring the agreement to a close, alongside efforts to resolve all pending investigations under Section 301.
Earlier in the day, Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal said that the US team is expected to visit India next month for trade talks, though no dates have been finalised yet. Agrawal said, “We expect the US team to visit soon..not this month.. maybe next month.”
Commerce Secretary said India is engaged with the US on a trade deal and it would be signed at an opportune time, and added that that India is engaged with the US on Section 301 investigations.
The Indian side visited Washington, DC, in April for an in-person round of meetings with their US counterparts to finalise the details of the interim pact and take forward the negotiations under the broader bilateral trade agreement (BTA).
India and the US issued a joint statement on February 7 finalising a framework for an interim trade agreement regarding reciprocal and mutually beneficial trade.
The framework reaffirmed the countries’ commitment to the broader India-US Bilateral Trade Agreement negotiations.
India’s shipments to the US grew marginally by 0.92 per cent to USD 87.3 billion during the last fiscal year, while imports increased 15.95 per cent to USD 52.9 billion. The trade surplus declined to USD 34.4 billion from USD 40.89 billion
