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India, US trade pact to be signed soon: Commerce Secretary
In Short
There are a few things which both sides are discussing, but it will be signed at an appropriate time,” he told reporters here.
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Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agarawal
New Delhi: The India-US trade pact is “more or less” finalised, with the two sides discussing only a few remaining issues, and the agreement will be signed at an appropriate time, Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agarawal said on Wednesday. Agarawal said a trade agreement must provide a certain degree of preferential market access to both sides. “My minister (Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal) on record has multiple times indicated that the deal has more or less been finalised.
There are a few things which both sides are discussing, but it will be signed at an appropriate time,” he told reporters here. He explained that India, which operates on most-favoured-nation (MFN) tariffs, has greater flexibility in offering preferential access, while the US is currently operating with executive tariffs. “From the Indian side, because we are operating on MFN (most favoured nation) tariffs, it is easier to do so. From their (US) side, they are operating on executive tariffs. So, they are building an architecture, which will create those differentials and create a preferential market access. So, at an opportune time, we should be able to sign,” he said. Agarawal added that bilateral trade between India and the US was continuing to grow.
Goyal has recently said that details of the Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) would be announced once Washington offers India preferential terms compared with its competitors.
In trade terminology, an MFN tariff refers to the standard import duty imposed by a country on goods from another country in the absence of a trade agreement providing lower tariffs.
The US has imposed an additional 10 per cent import duty over and above its MFN tariff on several countries, including India, under a Section 301 probe concerning forced labour. The additional duty came into effect on July 24.
