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 India, US back on deal table: Chief negotiator-level meeting on Tuesday


Chief negotiators from India and the United States (US) will meet in New Delhi on Tuesday for stock-taking discussions on the proposed bilateral trade agreement (BTA),
Signalling that talks between the two nations are back on track after a month-and-a-half-long pause.
Chief negotiator and Assistant US Trade Representative (USTR) for South and Central Asia, Brendan Lynch, is reaching New Delhi on Monday night and will hold talks with his Indian counterpart and Commerce Department Special Secretary Rajesh Agrawal on Tuesday. The one-day meeting will be a precursor to the next formal round of negotiations that will take place
 depending on the outcome of the discussions
“We have been engaged in discussions at various levels. The chief negotiator of the US is visiting India tonight (Monday) and we will be holding talks tomorrow (Tuesday) to see what the future of talks will be. It is not a round of negotiation, but we will try to see how we can reach an agreement,” Agrawal told reporters.
 
This will be the first official engagement between Agrawal and Lynch since the last round of talks in July-end in Washington. The sixth round, originally scheduled for August 25-29 in New Delhi, was postponed after tensions arose between the two nations.
In an interview with CNBC Television on Monday, White House senior trade advisor Peter Navarro said India was coming back to the negotiating table.   
In the trade side, they have the highest tariffs of any major country. They have very high non-tariff barriers. We had to deal with that, like we are dealing with every other country that does that,” Navarro said, reiterating his oft-repeated criticism of India’s purchase of Russian oil.
 
Trump’s move to impose a 25 per cent reciprocal tariff from August 7 and an additional 25 per cent levy from August 27, in response to India’s Russian oil imports, strained bilateral ties, after both sides failed to reach an interim trade deal
Another government official said Indian and US teams had been engaged virtually, but talks did not progress as the “environment was not conducive”, hinting at US pressure on India to curb Russian oil purchases, which Washington argues is fuelling the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
 
The latest meeting comes amid signs of easing tensions between the two nations. Last week, President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi posted conciliatory messages on social media, expressing optimism about resolving outstanding issues.
 
Trump had said both countries were continuing talks to address trade barriers and added that he looked forward to meeting Modi in the coming weeks. Echoing this sentiment, Modi said negotiating teams from both sides were working to conclude discussions quickly.
For India, finalising a trade deal and removing punitive tariffs are crucial, considering that the US is its largest trade partner and biggest export destination.
 
In February, Modi and Trump had announced the intention to finalise the first phase of a BTA by the Fall of 2025. The terms of reference were finalised in March, and both sides held five rounds of intense negotiations till July.
 
“There have been discussions going on (between India and the US) on diplomatic level and on the level of — trade negotiators and ministers. On the trade front, a team of US trade negotiators will be coming to India for discussions. Further course of action will also be discussed, but overall there is a positive frame of mind in both the countries with respect to trade issues,” Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal told reporters on Monday.

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