India, US push for trade pact as deadline nears

Hectic discussions are ongoing between India and the US to clinch a trade pact ahead of the July 9 deadline when the 90-day pause period for Washington's retaliatory tariffs comes to an end.

Indian and American trade negotiators have managed to find closure on many issues, and Indian trade officials have extended their visit to the US to conclude the talks.

"Both sides were clear in this round and not yielding on certain issues but have achieved closure on many grounds," said a person aware of the development.


New Delhi has stated that section 3(d) of the Indian Patents Act is non-negotiable and will not be reviewed. The section prohibits the grant of 'evergreening' patents, which are additional patents for a drug with no therapeutic benefit and are seen to increase the term of a patent monopoly.

India wants the entire 26% tariff to be rolled back whereas the US wants to sell genetically modified crops to India, a sensitive area for New Delhi.

Agriculture and dairy sectors are "difficult and challenging areas for India. And India has not opened up dairy in any of its free trade pacts," said the official.

The last round of talks would discuss both the interim and first tranche of the bilateral trade agreement (BTA) which is aimed to be concluded by September-October.

Last week, US President Donald Trump said a big trade deal may be coming up with India and asserted that the US would "open up" the country.

The Trump administration had also indicated that the July 9 deadline could be extended but the final decision rests with the President.

If the deadline is not extended, the tariffs would come to the April 2 level of 26% in the case of India.

If it is not extended, India may gain in some areas and lose in some others compared to other countries, but the US will also get affected because of the high tariffs, another official had said earlier.

Trade experts expect a limited trade pact similar to the US-UK mini trade deal where India could cut tariffs on automobiles along with a limited market access through tariff reductions and tariff-rate quotas on American ethanol, almonds, walnuts, apples, raisins, avocados, olive oil, spirits and wine.

"This would leave out the broader free trade agreement issues such as services trade, intellectual property rights, and digital regulations for future negotiations," said a Delhi-based trade expert.