India-US trade deal: Fifth round of talks for BTA completed; both countries aim to finalise interim deal ahead of Trump’s tariff deadline – Times of India

India and the United States have concluded the fifth round of negotiations for the proposed Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) in Washington. The talks, which took place over four days from July 14 to 17, were led by India’s chief negotiator and special secretary in the department of commerce, Rajesh Agrawal.“The Indian team is coming back,” an official confirmed the conclusion of discussions to PTI. The latest round of negotiations holds particular importance as both nations are aiming to finalise an interim trade deal before August 1. This deadline marks the end of the suspension period of the Trump-era tariffs, steep additional duties of up to 26% imposed on several countries, including India. US President Donald Trump had originally announced the reciprocal tariffs on April 2 this year. While they were scheduled for immediate implementation, the duties were temporarily suspended for 90 days until July 9, and later extended again until August 1, allowing time for ongoing trade negotiations with multiple countries. During the fifth round of talks, key sectors such as agriculture and automobiles featured prominently. The discussions also covered matters related to non-market economies and the export control category known as SCOMET (Special Chemicals, Organisms, Materials, Equipment, and Technologies). India has taken a firm stance against US demands for duty concessions in the agriculture and dairy sectors. New Delhi never included dairy-related duty concessions in any of its free trade agreements so far. Domestic farming groups have also urged the Indian government to exclude agricultural issues entirely from the ongoing trade negotiations. As part of the proposed trade pact, India is pushing for the removal of the additional 26% tariffs, along with reductions in duties on steel and aluminium (currently at 50%) and the automobile sector (25%). The country has also reserved its right to impose retaliatory duties under World Trade Organization (WTO) norms. India is seeking preferential access for several of its labour-intensive sectors, including textiles, gems and jewellery, leather goods, garments, plastics, chemicals, shrimp, oil seeds, grapes, and bananas. In contrast, the United States is pressing for duty concessions on industrial goods, automobiles, particularly electric vehicles, as well as wines, petrochemical products, agricultural produce, dairy items, apples, tree nuts, and genetically modified crops. Both countries hope to conclude negotiations on the first phase of the BTA by autumn this year, targeting September or October. Until then, the immediate priority remains securing an interim agreement. In terms of trade performance, India’s merchandise exports to the US grew by 22.8 % to $25.51 billion in the April–June quarter of the current fiscal year. Imports from the US during the same period rose by 11.68 per cent to $12.86 billion.