US team to visit India in August for next round of trade deal talks

India and the US are set to hold the next round of negotiations for their proposed bilateral trade agreement in the second half of August, an official said on Monday.

The two sides–led by India's chief negotiator and Special Secretary in the Department of Commerce Rajesh Agrawal and Assistant US Trade Representative for South and Central Asia Brendan Lynch–concluded the fifth round of talks last week in Washington.

“For the next round of talks, the US team will visit India in the second half of August,” the official said.

Both sides are aiming to finalise an interim trade deal before August 1, the end of the suspension period of the reciprocal tariffs imposed by the Trump administration.

On April 2 this year, US President Donald Trump announced reciprocal tariffs on several countries, including India. The implementation of these tariffs was initially suspended for 90 days till July 9 and later extended till August 1 as negotiations continued.

Trump has been sending out tariff notification letters to smaller trading partners, including the Philippines, Brunei, Moldova, Algeria, Libya, Iraq and Sri Lanka.

India, which is currently negotiating the trade pact, has not been targeted in these initial lists, providing some relief to Indian exporters.

Issues related to agriculture, automobiles, non-market economies, and SCOMET (Special Chemicals, Organisms, Materials, Equipment, and Technologies) figured during the fifth round of talks, reported PTI.

India has hardened its stance on the US demand for duty concessions on agricultural and dairy products. New Delhi has so far not given duty concessions to any trading partner in the dairy sector, and certain farmers' associations have urged the government not to include agriculture in the trade pact.

India is seeking the removal of the additional 26% tariff imposed under Trump, as well as easing of duties on steel and aluminium (50%) and the auto sector (25%). It is also seeking duty concessions for labour-intensive sectors, including textiles, gems and jewellery, leather goods, garments, plastics, chemicals, shrimp, oil seeds, grapes, and bananas.

The US, in turn, is seeking duty concessions on industrial goods, automobiles, wines, petrochemical products, agri goods, dairy items, apples, tree nuts, and genetically modified crops.

The two countries were initially aiming to announce an agreement before July 9, the initial deadline for the 90-day suspension period.

While the talks for an interim agreement are ongoing, the two sides are looking to conclude the first tranche of the proposed bilateral trade agreement by September-October this year.

India’s merchandise exports to the US rose 22.8 per cent to USD 25.51 billion in the April-June quarter of the current fiscal, while imports rose 11.68 per cent to USD 12.86 billion.