India and the United States have purportedly finalised the terms of reference for talks on the first segment of a bilateral trade agreement and were ahead of other countries in negotiating with America, reported Reuters, citing an anonymous official.
The deal between the two countries, which could be finalised in the next 90 days, was described as potentially having a “win-win shape and form,” by a trade official cited by Reuters.
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“We are far ahead in trade talks with the UScompared to other countries… there are lots of possibilities in 90 days,” said the official.
The US is India’s largest trading partner and two-way trade between the countries was more than $118 billion in 2023-24.
Donald Trump’s administration had announced a 26 per cent tariff on Indian products last week, and India had not imposed any retaliatory tariffs on the country. The US President has issued a pause in the tariffs for certain countries, including India, to negotiate favourable deals that could lead to lowering of tariffs.
Trade engagements between the US and India will continue virtually and regularly, a trade official told Reuters.
Trump’s tariffs on India
While India has been hit with tariffs as well, the Centre has moved fast to enter negotiations with the Donald Trump administration and reiterate that their common rival is China.
Also Read: Donald Trump’s 26% ‘reciprocal tariffs’ on India come into effect
Union commerce minister Piyush Goyal said earlier this week that manufacturers in India and the US have suffered from China’s unfair trade practices over the years.
“India is one of the first nations to start talks over a deal with the United States and to have jointly agreed to a deadline to conclude it,” Reuters quoted an official as saying.
In February, India and the US had agreed to work on the first phase of a trade deal to be concluded late this year, with a view to reaching two-way trade worth $500 billion by 2030.
Donald Trump, while announcing the tariffs said, “Their Prime Minister [Narendra Modi] just left [US recently]. He is a great friend of mine, but I said to him that ‘you’re a friend of mine, but you’ve not been treating us right’. India charges us 52 per cent, so we will charge them half of that – 26 per cent.”