India and US ready to resume trade deal this month

iNDICA NEWS BUREAU-

Of all the deals between India and the US, to bring both the countries closer together, a trade deal has been the most significant and difficult to find a common ground.

In order to make some pathway in this tough road, both countries are getting together once again to resume the Trade Policy Forum (TPF).

The TPF is happening after a gap of almost four years with the maiden visit of US Trade Representative (USTR) Katherine Tai later this month.

Tai, who was confirmed by the Joe Biden administration as the USTR in February 2021, is the first woman of color to assume this role.

Tai will be in Delhi from 22-24 November as part of a two-week visit to Japan, South Korea and India that aims to “strengthen (the US’) trade and economic relationships with key allies and partners”.

In India, she will be meeting her Indian counterpart Piyush Goyal, the Union Commerce and Industry Minister, for the TPF. She will be accompanied by Deputy USTR Sarah Bianchi.

The India-US TPF was established in 2005 with the Office of the USTR and the Ministry of Commerce and Industry in India serving as nodal agencies.

The TPF last met in October 2017 in Washington DC under the then commerce minister Suresh Prabhu and former USTR Robert Lighthizer. Former President Trump subsequently discontinued it as he sought a comprehensive trade deal with India.

However, after PM Narendra Modi’s meeting with US President Biden this September, a joint statement said the leaders “looked forward to reconvening the India-US Trade Policy Forum before the end of 2021, to enhance the bilateral trade relationship by addressing trade concerns, identifying specific areas for increased engagement and developing an ambitious, shared vision for the future of the trade relationship”.

The Biden administration has made it clear to India that it is not keen on a bilateral trade agreement, unlike the previous Donald Trump government, and Washington is now more focused on easing some of the persistent trade irritants between both countries.

The sources said the US will most significantly raise the issue of restrictive data policies and discriminatory tax measures, which Tai had flagged in her first National Trade Estimate Report (2021) this March. The US is also likely to raise the issue of non-tariff barriers and import restrictions on a range of items.

India, the sources added, will once again push the US for negotiating a smaller trade pact or a mini trade deal — something that was almost concluded under Trump.