India and the United States are about to resume negotiations for a trade pact after recent amicable interactions between President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The American lead negotiator, Brendan Lynch, Assistant US Trade Representative for South and Central Asia, will come to India on Monday evening, September 15, to follow through talks with his Indian counterpart, Rajesh Agrawal, special secretary in the commerce department, on Tuesday.
The trip was originally planned for August 25-29, but got scrapped when tensions ran high over the steep US tariffs on Indian goods. Washington had levied an initial 25% global tariff in early August and another 25%, more specifically aimed at India buying Russian oil, labelling it as ‘funding the Ukraine war’.
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Scathing comments followed on the US side, including such comparisons as caste, while India asserted that it had the sovereign right to purchase oil from any source in the interests of its nation.
Relations have since warmed. Trump recently labelled the Russia-Ukraine conflict and oil sanctions “more of a Europe problem,” refraining from any criticism of India. This shift in tone followed indications of a social media thaw between Trump and Modi, building hopes that delayed negotiations could soon resume.
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Talks for an interim trade agreement were initiated in March-April but were delayed. The US cited sluggish pace as among the reasons for its “punitive” tariffs. India is also wary of US pressure to open up the agriculture and dairy sectors, with PM Modi insisting that the interests of farmers will be guarded.
The officials now plan to seal the first phase of the agreement by October or November, having missed the original September deadline.
