India-US trade talks on track, says Commerce Secretary

India continues to remain engaged with the US on the bilateral trade agreement, and a team of officials from the US visited India in early November to discuss issues around customs and trade facilitation.

“India-US trade talks are on the right track,” said Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal to reporters on Friday. There was a lot of convergence in many areas during the recent visit of the US team, with good progress, he further said, adding that the chief negotiators for the trade deal between the two countries have also been engaging virtually.

“We look forward to a successful conclusion soon,” he said.

Sources said that discussions are underway for both the first tranche of the bilateral trade agreement as well as the overall agreement. The US has assured India of comparative advantage on tariffs compared to other countries. However, India is awaiting more clarity on the outcome of the Section 301 investigations by the US Trade Representative on excess capacity that could lead to additional tariffs being levied on India.

Meanwhile, India is also making steady progress on its trade negotiations with Canada and hope to conclude the negotiations by the end of this year. The sixth round of negotiations is currently underway from November 11 to 20 in New Delhi.

Negotiations are being held on 16 policy areas, including market access on goods, services, rules of origin and origin procedures, and trade remedies, among other issues. “Three chapters and one annex under the services chapter have been concluded,” as per a commerce ministry presentation.

The commerce secretary also noted that the two countries are advancing very rapidly in the negotiations, and another round of talks are planned in December.

India and Canada had signed the Terms of Reference for the negotiations for the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement in March this year. It is expected that the formal conclusion of the talks will be announced in December when Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to visit Canada on December 11 and 12. The formal signing of the deal is, however, likely later.

Officials also underlined that India and the European Union are on track to sign the free trade agreement. An official announcement on the date of signing is still awaited, but it is likely to take place during PM Modi’s visit to Brussels next month.