US to consider restoring India's GSP trade privilege

The United States on Tuesday agreed to consider restoring India’s Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) trade privilege, even as the two nations decided to expand bilateral commerce in agricultural and food products in addition to discussing ways to bring down targeted tariffs imposed on imports from each other.

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and the US Trade Representative Katherine Tai chaired the ministerial meeting of the bilateral Trade Policy Forum in New Delhi. Goyal asked Tai to restore India’s GSP privilege for export to the US.

The privilege was withdrawn by erstwhile President Donald Trump’s administration in June 2019 and India has been prodding the United States to restore it. Tai told Goyal that New Delhi’s plea for restoration of the GSP trade privilege “could be considered, as warranted, in relation to the eligibility criteria determined by the US Congress”, according to a joint statement issued after the meeting on Tuesday.

The two sides also exchanged views on withdrawing the tariffs and retaliatory tariffs imposed on each other’s exports.

Goyal and Tai welcomed the agreement to finalise work on market access facilitation for mangoes and pomegranates, pomegranate arils from India, and cherries and alfalfa hay for animal feed from the US.

The US confirmed the intent of the two sides to finalise transfer of the pre-clearance programme or regulatory oversight of irradiation for mangoes and pomegranate to authorities in India as soon as is practicable. The two nations would soon sign the Systems Approach Operational Work Plan for the export of pomegranate arils from India to the US.

India also agreed to expeditiously grant phytosanitary clearances for import of cherries as well as alfalfa hay (for animal feed) from the US and India. The US agreed to work on India’s request for market access for table grapes and India agreed to work to finalise the mutually agreed export certificate to allow import of US pork and pork products.

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