NITI Aayog CEO BVR Subrahmanyam expressed confidence on Monday that a trade agreement would be concluded between India and the US soon as both countries are committed to having a mutually beneficial bilateral trade pact.
Subrahmanyam said that India should lower tariffs and non-tariff barriers and open its markets to improve competitiveness in manufacturing. "So the good thing is that both sides are still committed to having a trade deal. Negotiations happened last month, so I think both sides are hopeful," he told the media while launching the “Trade Watch Quarterly” here.
The ties between New Delhi and Washington have come under severe strain since US President Donald Trump doubled tariffs on Indian goods in August to 50 per cent, including an additional 25 per cent duty on India's purchase of Russian crude oil. India had termed the US action as "unfair, unjustified and unreasonable".
Asked to comment on the impact of a whopping 50 per cent tariffs on Indian goods, Subrahmanyam said, "Building a trade channel is difficult, and unwinding a trade channel is also difficult… No impact will happen till Christmas." The NITI Aayog CEO, however, noted that the following months are going to be an issue if both countries do not settle the trade deal.
"We are at a disadvantage...50 per cent tariffs are a major, major cost factor... There is no escaping that. People are hopeful that if the trade deal comes through by November, there will be no disruption," he said.
In February this year, leaders of the two countries directed officials to negotiate a proposed Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA). The plan was to conclude the first tranche of the pact by the fall (October-November) of 2025. So far, five rounds of negotiations have been held. The pact is aimed at more than doubling the bilateral trade to USD 500 billion by 2030 from the current USD 191 billion.
The US remained India's largest trading partner for the fourth consecutive year in 2024-25 with bilateral trade valued at USD 131.84 billion (USD 86.5 billion exports). Subrahmanyam said India's trade deficit is manageable but unbalanced.
While noting that India is absent in manufacturing intermediaries, Subrahmanyam said, "I do not think India should protect any sector." Responding to a question on lifting curbs on investments from China, he said China is a major supplier for India as far as imports from China are concerned. "If you are not able to sell more to China, then it is pointless...if you are competitive, they will buy more products," he said.
Stating that the NITI Aayog wanted India's new manufacturing policy to focus on clusters and building a world-class ecosystem, Subrahmanyam said, "We need to diversify manufacturing."
Also read: Exports to US will become more competitive: Niti Aayog
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