Government plans to hold trade talks with US in July

NEW DELHI: The government on Wednesday said it plans to hold trade talks with the US in July and a ministerial-level dialogue in October, an indication that Delhi is ready to step up engagement with its second-biggest trading partner.

“Dates are yet to be finalised. Everything related to the trade policy will be discussed at the forum. There are a whole lot of bilateral issues related to market access and rules, which would be discussed,” commerce secretary Rajiv Kher said.

India exported $39.2 billion worth of goods to the US in FY14 while its imports from the country stood at $22.3 billion. A summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Barack Obama is expected in Washington in September.

ALPHONSO IMPORT BAN

A European Union team is likely to visit India in September to inspect procedures and infrastructure for certification of fruits and vegetables. The EU had last month imposed an import ban on mangoes produced in India. It had also barred imports of four vegetables— eggplant, bitter gourd, snake gourd and taro.

REVIEW OF SEZ POLICY

The commerce department has “strongly recommended” withdrawal of minimum alternate tax (MAT) and dividend distribution tax ( DDT) levied on SEZs and restoration of the policy in its original form to the finance ministry.

“The imposition of MAT and DDT suppressed potential of SEZs as tool of industrial development. So, those impositions should be done away with and this will liberalise environment around SEZs and entrepreneurs will make investments,” said Kher.