India-US BTA talks: Indian delegation to visit Washington on Monday amid tariff landscape shift
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "India-US BTA talks: Indian delegation to visit Washington on Monday amid tariff landscape shift")
Flags of India and US adorn the Eisenhower Executive Office Building of the White House in Washington, DC. Photograph: (AFP)
Chief negotiator Darpan Jain, Additional Secretary in the Department of Commerce, will lead the delegation. Officials from the customs department and the Ministry of External Affairs will also be part of the talks, scheduled from April 20 to 22.
An Indian delegation will travel to Washington, DC, on Monday (April 20) for a three-day round of discussions with US officials on the proposed bilateral trade agreement (BTA), at a time when global tariff dynamics are undergoing major changes.
Chief negotiator Darpan Jain, Additional Secretary in the Department of Commerce, will lead the delegation. Officials from the customs department and the Ministry of External Affairs will also be part of the talks, scheduled from April 20 to 22.
The negotiations come against the backdrop of evolving US trade policy. Earlier this year, the US Supreme Court struck down sweeping tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump under emergency powers. Subsequently, Washington introduced a uniform 10 per cent tariff on imports from all countries for a period of 150 days, effective February 24.
In light of these developments, both sides are expected to revisit the framework of the agreement that was finalised in February. A previously scheduled meeting has been deferred and is now being held this week.
According to a report by PTI, the talks are also likely to address two investigations initiated by the US Trade Representative under Section 301 of its trade law. India has rejected the allegations in these cases and has urged the US to withdraw the probes, stating that they lack adequate justification.
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Under the earlier draft of the agreement, the US had proposed reducing tariffs on Indian goods to 18 per cent from 50 per cent, while also scrapping an additional 25 per cent duty linked to India’s purchase of Russian oil. There were also indications of further tariff reductions in subsequent phases.
India, on its part, had offered to cut or eliminate duties on a range of US industrial and agricultural products, including animal feed, nuts, fruits, soybean oil, wine and spirits. It had also outlined plans to step up imports from the US, such as energy, aircraft, technology products and raw materials, over the next five years.
However, with Washington now imposing a flat 10 per cent tariff across trading partners, India’s relative advantage under the proposed deal has narrowed, prompting the need to recalibrate and update the agreement.
