Washington DC: As momentum gathers behind a prospective India-US trade agreement, the US Commerce Secretary, Howard Lutnick, emphasized that a deal is indeed possible but will take time and energy, as well as a lot of effort, due to its involved complications. Speaking on Saturday on Bloomberg Podcasts, Lutnick recognized India's active participation but said that over 7,000 tariff lines are subject to negotiation, portraying it highly tricky and ultimately a long process.
His comments came just prior to the visit by Rajesh Agarwal, India's chief trade negotiator, to Washington later this month. Lutnick went further to say that the recently minted US-UK trade accord could be the template for an India-US deal. He clarified that in reality, successful negotiations require reciprocal market access along with a proper structuring of sector-specific tariffs.
To provide an example, he referred to the UK, where there were arrangements for the UK to supply Rolls Royce engines and commit to buying Aircraft worth $10 billion from Boeing in the United States over the neighborhood of a decade or so. This type of reciprocal arrangement could be looked at with India to have a proper balanced deal.
Earlier this month, former President Trump said that India had committed to significantly reduce its high tariffs after consultations. Trump hinted at a major announcement possibly related to India and that the country had agreed to drop tariffs "to nothing."
Meanwhile, in March, India's exports to the US amounted to $11.2 billion, resulting in a bilateral trade figure of $15 billion for the month with a temporary 90-day tariff suspension. With this increasing rhythm of trade, expectations are rising about a possible landmark agreement defining future agreements in the Indo-Pacific.
[Source Credit: Business Today ]
