India and US discuss interim trade agreement at G20 meeting in Milwaukee

 

MILWAUKEE: India and the United States continued discussions on their bilateral trade agreement as Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal participated in the G20 Trade Ministers’ Meeting in Milwaukee on Thursday.

Goyal met US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer on the sidelines of the meeting. According to Goyal, the two sides discussed efforts towards an early conclusion of an interim agreement under the India-US Bilateral Trade Agreement.

The meeting comes as New Delhi and Washington continue negotiations on the first phase of their broader trade arrangement. India and the US had announced in February that they had finalised a framework for the first phase of the Bilateral Trade Agreement, but subsequent changes in the US tariff environment have led to further discussions.

The G20 Trade Ministers’ Meeting is being held under the US presidency of the grouping. Discussions at the meeting include broader issues concerning the global trading system as well as specific areas such as industrial overcapacity, forced labour in supply chains and the Most-Favoured-Nation principle.

For India, the bilateral trade negotiations with the US remain an important part of its wider economic engagement with Washington. Both sides have been working to address differences relating to tariffs, market access and other trade-related issues.

Goyal’s meeting with Greer provides another round of direct engagement between the two governments as officials work towards an interim arrangement and the broader bilateral trade agreement.

The trade discussions are taking place alongside wider India-US engagement covering areas such as defence, energy and critical technologies.

The two countries are expected to continue negotiations through official channels as they work towards resolving outstanding issues and determining the terms of any interim agreement.