India in advanced stages of trade talks with US: Piyush

New Delhi: Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Monday that India and the United States are in the advanced stages of negotiating a bilateral trade agreement. Goyal told journalists that India has already finalised free trade agreements with three members of the Five Eyes (FVEY) intelligence alliance — Australia, the UK, and New Zealand.

The US and Canada comprise the other two members of the grouping.

The minister said that they are also preparing to re-engage Canada on a bilateral trade pact. “We are soon going to launch discussions for the ToR (terms of reference) with Canada also,” Goyal said, adding that “this reflects the growing strategic importance of India in world geopolitics”.

Goyal’s optimistic note comes against the backdrop of the talks held by Indian officials with the US delegation led by Deputy Trade Representative Rick Switzer in Delhi earlier this month.

Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal had also said earlier that India is “very close” to finalising an initial framework deal with the US aimed at lowering reciprocal tariffs. “We are very close to closing the initial framework deal, but I don’t want to put a timeline to it,” Agrawal had said in a December 15 presser. He added that India and the US have completed six rounds of talks, covering both a Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) and an interim arrangement to reduce reciprocal tariffs.

There is a reasonable expectation that the two countries will reach an interim agreement to lower steep tariffs on most Indian exports, Agrawal said.

Goyal earlier said that the ongoing trade talks between Indian and US officials are progressing well, but at the same time ruled out any deadline for signing a deal.

Commenting on US Deputy Trade Representative Rick Switzer’s two-day visit to Delhi, he said: “We had very good substantive discussions. But I have said on record that a deal is only done when both sides stand to benefit. We should never negotiate with deadlines because you tend to make mistakes then.”

Agrawal had said that the two sides exchanged views on matters related to India-US trade and economic ties, including on the ongoing negotiations for a mutually beneficial Bilateral Trade Agreement.