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Days after US President Donald Trump announced fresh reciprocal tariff rates of up to 50 per cent for scores of countries, including the European Union, Canada, Brazil and ASEAN among others, Indian negotiators have begun a fresh round of talks in Washington to clinch a deal before August 1.
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“India’s aim is to sign a bilateral trade deal by the end of the year. The week-long negotiations have begun and the interim trade deal will depend on the willingness of both sides. If substantial agreement is reached, an interim agreement can be reached,” a senior government official said on Monday.
Another official, seeking anonymity, said that India is in an advantageous position compared to other countries, particularly its Asian peers, and that the likelihood of India reaching a trade deal with the US is high.
The ongoing round of negotiation comes less than 10 days after Indian officials, led by Special Secretary Rajesh Agarwal, returned from Washington on July 4.
The Indian Express had reported that agriculture has been a major sticking point in the negotiations, particularly because India has adopted an unwavering stance on this sector.
The US maintains that the August 1 cut-off date is not a new deadline but an outer limit for countries to “speed things up”, and that this strategy has helped bring trading partners such as the European Union on board.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, when asked in a TV interview if there was a playbook for the US tariffs actions, said: “The playbook is to apply maximum pressure. You know, we saw that the EU was very slow in coming to the table. Three weeks ago, on a Friday morning, President Trump threatened 50 per cent tariffs. And within a few hours, five of the European national leaders had called him. Ursula von der Leyen, the head of the EU, was on the phone and the EU is making very good progress. They were off to a slow start.”
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The threat from the Trump administration is that if the August 1 deadline is not adhered to, those countries go back to the April 2 tariff levels. Most of them are minor trading partners of the US and are likely outside America’s 18 important trading relationships that account for 95 per cent of the country’s trade deficit.
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
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