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The India-US trade talks have stalled as negotiators have made extractive demands but have not offered anything substantial in return.
The main areas of dispute are agriculture, dairy, pharmaceuticals, and digital services. Officials have described the US position as that of take-it-or-leave-it. These disputes have emerged in talks that began in Delhi earlier this month.
The news of trade talks hitting a hurdle has come at a time when US President Donald Trump’s actions have soured the India-US relationship.
Since last month, Trump has sought to intervene in the Kashmir conflict and consistently taken Pakistan’s side in the India-Pakistan conflict and undermined India’s position. He open embrace of jihadists and jihad sympathisers from West Asia to Central Asia has also compromised India’s security interests.
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If a deal is not reached by July 8, India would be slapped with 26 per cent tariffs as the pause announced in ‘reciprocal tariffs’ would come to an end.
India-US trade talks stall over US demands
The Trump administration has demanded India to allow lower-duty imports of US agricultural products like maize and soybean and India is resisting the demand, according to The Times of India.
The government is concerned about the effect of such imports on farmers. There are also concerns about potential effects of genetically modified food on health.
Sources told the newspaper that India-US trade talks have hit a hurdle.
India had also expected to secure zero duty access to US markets for Indian textiles, leather goods, pharmaceuticals, and some engineering goods and automobile parts, but US negotiators have said that going down to zero tariffs immediately is not possible.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsSeparately, Bloomberg has reported that the Trump administration wants India to remove tariffs and ease price controls on medical devices. It has also demanded India to relax its data localisation requirements for digital services.
US following take-it-or-leave-it approach
As the Trump administration has persisted with maximalist demands, an Indian officials told Mint that its dealings came off as a “take-it-or-leave-it offer”.
The newspaper further reported that India has made it clear to the Trump administration that unless it changes its animal feeding practices, such as the usage of non-vegetarian feed to cattle, US dairy products will not be allowed into India.
“The negotiations are not progressing as expected. The talks were meant to be two-way, as agreed. However, the US team’s insistence on opening certain critical sectors comes across as a take-it-or-leave-it offer," a person familiar with the matter told the newspaper.