India and the United States have initiated bilateral trade discussions that are set to continue until Saturday in Delhi.
A US team, headed by Assistant Trade Representative for South and Central Asia, Brendan Lynch, arrived in Delhi on Tuesday for the negotiations.
According to a statement from the US Embassy, “This visit underscores the United States’ ongoing dedication to fostering a productive and equitable trade relationship with India.”
These negotiations come ahead of President Donald Trump’s deadline on April 2 to implement “reciprocal” tariffs on various countries, including India.
India’s junior commerce minister, Jitin Prasada, informed parliament on Tuesday that both nations aim to establish a “multi-sector bilateral trade agreement” concentrating on enhancing market access and “lowering tariff and non-tariff barriers.”
The two countries have been actively negotiating since Trump took office.
Trade Minister Piyush Goyal made a surprise visit to the US in March for discussions following Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s trip to Washington in February.
For a substantial period, the US was India’s largest trading partner, with bilateral trade reaching $190 billion.
Trump and Modi have set an ambitious goal to increase this figure to $500 billion (£400 billion). The two parties are also committed to negotiating the first stage of a trade agreement by autumn 2025.
The Trump administration has often labeled India as a “tariff king” and a “significant abuser” of trade relations in the past.
Recently, India has reduced tariffs on Bourbon whiskey, motorcycles, and several other US goods; however, the trade balance still heavily favors India, with a $45 billion trade surplus for Delhi.
India’s average tariffs, around 12%, are also considerably higher than the US’s 2%.
While officials have not publicly outlined the specifics of the trade discussions, Reuters has reported that India might be contemplating reducing tariffs on over half of US imports worth $23 billion in the initial phase of a trade deal to steer clear of Trump’s reciprocal actions.
Previously, Trump expressed a desire to implement tit-for-tat tariffs, where the US would impose identical charges that other nations impose on it.
However, on Monday, he indicated that the White House could be “nicer than that.”
“We may take less than what they’re charging us, because they’ve charged us a lot; I don’t think they could handle it,” he mentioned, while also suggesting that some countries might be exempt from the tariffs.
