New Delhi: India remains hope of closing the negotiations of the bilateral trade agreement proposed with the United States “as quickly as possible” and also intensifies the efforts to conclude free trade agreements with other countries while monitoring a possible increase in imports due to reciprocal tariffs.
“We will try to close the negotiations for the BTA as quickly as possible. We hope we will be able to negotiate a good agreement with the United States,” said a senior responsible for the Ministry of Commerce, adding that the deadline for the first BTA trance is September to October 2025 or the fall 2025. He indicated that negotiations could be finished before that.
In the midst of concerns about the reciprocal prices of the United States despite an increase of 90 days, officials have stressed that India has already taken a way of trade liberalization with the United States and the finalization of BTA, which will help not only to develop the trade of India with the United States, but will also open many opportunities for the two countries.
Virtual discussions on the BTA between the two countries should start this week while in person, negotiations will take place after the second week of May. “We are on time with negotiations,” said an official.
During the 2010 financial year, the United States remained the main export destination for India with total exports amounting to $ 86.51 billion against $ 77.52 billion in 2014.
Meanwhile, India is also working on commercial pacts with several other countries, including the European Union, and could possibly consider an “early harvesting” agreement on the lines of the temporary commercial pact signed with Australia and what is proposed with the United States, officials said.
“If some of the questions are not essential to negotiate and may take longer to negotiate, it may be preferable to focus solely on the trade in the negotiations of India has FTA,” they explained, adding that they discuss with the EU which can be an early harvest or a first tranche of the ALE.
India and the European Union will hold the next series of negotiations for the free trade agreement proposed from May 12 to 16 in New Delhi and will aim to conclude the agreement by the end of 2025.
Superving of imports:
The Ministry of Commerce also closely monitors any possible increase in imports in the midst of concerns concerning the spill of goods due to reciprocal rates in the United States. For the moment, there has been no rise in imports, noted officials.
A recent evaluation highlighted the risk of unloading goods in India from countries like China, Vietnam and Indonesia due to reciprocal trade tensions and the rise in American costs. It is also feared that Chinese reprisal rates on American products can further increase the influx of American agricultural products in India, said officials.
A committee involved in monitoring import overvoltages has been set up with the representation of the Ministry of Trade, the Directorate General of Foreign Trade, the Central Council for Indirect Taxes and Customs and the Department of Trade in Industry and Internal Trade. The Committee monitors the tendency of weekly and monthly imports by raw materials as well as countries.
Source: Bt
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