Piyush Goyal’s US visit to provide political weight to over 2 months of BTA talks: Govt sources

NEW DELHI : Commerce and Industry Minister Shri Piyush Goyal is on his way to visit United States to meet the US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, followed by the USTR (US Trade Representative) Jamieson Greer. While the Minister will be in the US till 20th May, India’s negotiating team led by Chief negotiator Rajesh Agrawal will negotiate with its American counterparts from 19th to 22nd May.

Government sources have described Goyal’s visit as an assessment of two months of talks for a potential Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA), to provide a political steer to negotiations amidst multiple FTA (Free Trade Agreement) negotiations by both the countries.

Goyal is slated to meet Lutnick followed by the USTR (US Trade Representative) Jamieson Greer, with the meetings aimed at review and assessment of the developments till now.

These meetings will be followed by discussions between the negotiating teams. It may be noted that any early achievements will depend on the decisions and consensus in the Minister-level meetings. This is Piyush Goyal’s 2nd visit to the US since both sides had expressed an interest in signing a BTA.

Both India and the US aim to benefit from the 90-day pause in the imposition of tariffs. The US has already suspended the additional 26% tariffs on India till 9th July, keeping only the 10% baseline tariff for now.

Both countries have already finalised the terms of reference covering 19 chapters for a proposed BTA. The 19 chapters cover tariffs, goods, non-tariff barriers, customs facilitation, rules of origin and regulatory issues. India’s proposal to impose retaliatory tariffs on American products over tariffs on Steel and Aluminium may also figure in the BTA talks.

However, the proposal at the WTO for retaliatory tariffs on Steel and Aluminium is not binding, and it is up to India whether it will apply tariffs. While India reserves the right to impose retaliatory tariffs on Steel and Aluminium products after 30 days, there have been instances even in the past when India has not resorted to levying reciprocal tariffs.