Now that US President Donald Trump has once again extended the imposition of additional import duties on Indian goods till August 1, and in the absence of the finalisation of an interim trade deal between the two countries, a team from India is set to visit Washington again for another round of talks, said a government official on Thursday.
While the dates for the visit have not yet been finalised, sources say it could be as early as next week.
Earlier this month, the Indian team, led by Rajesh Agarwal, Special Secretary in the Department of Commerce as well as chief negotiator of the proposed India-US bilateral trade agreement (BTA), returned from Washington after hectic discussions on the deal.
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During the impending visit, negotiations will happen on both interim and the first phase of the BTA, with an aim to conclude the first phase of the pact by September-October of this year.
Agrawal said that India had so far implemented more than 14 Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with 26 countries including the UK, Australia, and the UAE.
Meanwhile, negotiations are on with the European Union, New Zealand, Chile and Peru.
“Now we are integrating with major markets also... we just concluded an agreement with the UK, we are in an advanced stage of negotiations with the European Union, we are trying to negotiate and finalise a deal with the USA,” Agarwal said at an event on export logistics.
“We have done (trade pact) with Australia and UAE. We are in negotiations with New Zealand... So, the idea is that we are also integrating in a big way with the major trading partners and major economies,” he added.
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