 "MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal. PTI file")
The Ministry of External Affairs on Friday said that India and the US discussed plans for a mutually beneficial and multi-sector Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the country in February.
“The two governments are in the process of advancing discussions on a multi-sector Bilateral Trade Agreement. Through the BTA, our objective is to strengthen and deepen India-US two-way trade in the goods and services sector, increase market access, reduce tariff and non-tariff barriers, and deepen supply chain integration between the two countries,” MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said during a routine presser.
Jaiswal also mentioned that Commerce and Industries Minister Piyush Goyal was in the US where he met his counterparts.
Earlier this week, US President Donald Trump targeted New Delhi for imposing “very high tariffs” and announced that Washington will levy reciprocal tariffs from April 2.
Impact Shorts
View All“India charges us 100 per cent tariffs; the system is not fair to the US, it never was. On April 2, reciprocal tariffs kick in. Whatever they tax us, we will tax them. If they use non-monetary tariffs to keep us out of their market, then we will use non-monetary barriers to keep them out of our market,” Trump said as he addressed a join session of the Congress.
Trump’s proposal to impose reciprocal tariffs from early April on trading partners including India is worrying Indian exporters in sectors ranging from autos to agriculture, with Citi Research analysts estimating potential losses at about $7 billion a year.
According to a report by Reuters, Goyal went to the US to seek clarification on US reciprocal tariffs and to assess their impact on Indian trade. The discussions also included potential Indian concessions and a trade deal to reduce tariffs and boost bilateral trade.