Representative image for US tariff on India import trade, showing war cargo shipping container.
Credit: iStock photo
New Delhi: India is hopeful of resuming the negotiations with the US on the proposed bilateral trade agreement even as Donald Trump administration implemented the additional 25 per cent tariff on Thursday, said official sources.
“We are engaged. We feel that India and the US are complementary economies and both countries need to arrive at a deal,” said an official, who requested not to be named.
The two countries started negotiations for a bilateral trade agreement in March and five rounds of negotiations have been held so far. A team of US trade officials were scheduled to visit New Delhi from August 25 for the next round of talks. However, it was postponed after the Trump administration unilaterally announced the imposition of high tariffs.
The official said both tariff issues, 25 per cent reciprocal tariff and 25 per cent penalty for economic engagement with Russia, need to be resolved to take the trade agreement negotiations forward.
“Retaliation and negotiations cannot go hand-in-hand. Right now, the talks are only postponed, they have not been taken off the table,” the official added.
Amid the worsening trade ties, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has described the India-US relationship as "very complicated" but hoped that "at the end of the day, we will come together".
"This is a very complicated relationship. President (Donald) Trump or Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi have very good relationships at that level. And it's not just over the Russian oil," Bessent told Fox Business.
Stressing that India is the world's largest democracy and the US is the world's largest economy, he said, “I think at the end of the day, we will come together."
Meanwhile, representatives of different export promotion bodies met government officials to seek support in diversification of markets and liquidity.
“The government is trying to speed up the rollout of the export promotion mission and expediting the e-commerce export hub scheme," an official said.
A delegation of the Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) led by its President S C Ralhan met Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
Sitharaman reassured the delegation that the government stands firmly behind Indian exporters at this hour. She emphasised that the government is committed to addressing all concerns of the exporting community and will explore every possible avenue to safeguard their interests, FIEO said in a statement.
“The Finance Minister’s reassurance has come as a great source of confidence for the exporting fraternity. Her commitment that the government will stand shoulder-to-shoulder with exporters demonstrates the priority being accorded to safeguarding India’s trade interests and employment,” said Ralhan.