India-US trade deal can be finalised after tariff probe concludes, official says

By Shivangi Acharya

NEW DELHI, ‌June 8 (Reuters) - India ​is ​pushing for preferential new tariffs from the United States as part of talks to finalise an interim trade deal with Washington, ‌an Indian trade official said on Monday.

The U.S. and India ⁠reached an initial understanding on a trade deal in February, but negotiations slowed after U.S. ‌President Donald Trump's sweeping tariff ‌measures were struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court.

The U.S. has since proposed an additional tariff of 12.5% on imports from India, and other ​countries, due to what Washington says is these countries' use of forced labour. It is also looking at imposing a separate tariff on ⁠India, claiming India has excess capacity in industries such as textiles and is exporting too much to ​the United States, damaging U.S. industry.

"Once we have that tariff, we can finalise a trade deal with the U.S. But ​obviously the rate has to be competitive ‌with direct competitors," the Indian trade official, who was speaking on condition of anonymity, told reporters.

India would also seek ⁠an assurance from the U.S. that it will not be subjected to additional tariffs in future after the deal, the official said.

The official did not wish to ⁠be named as talks between the two nations over the deal are confidential. India's trade ​ministry did not immediately respond to an e-mailed request for comment.

Bilateral trade talks gathered pace last week as a U.S. delegation led by Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for ‌South and Central Asia Brendan Lynch held three days of talks with Indian trade officials in New Delhi.

Last week, ‌India's trade minister Piyush Goyal said the two sides were moving swiftly toward ⁠finalising the first tranche of a ‌bilateral trade agreement that ​could be concluded by mid-July.

(Reporting by Shivangi Acharya, writing by Shanima Aniyeri and Manoj Kumar; Editing by YP Rajesh and ‌Susan Fenton)

---

Serious News for Serious Traders! Try StreetInsider.com Premium Free!

---

You May Also Be Interested In

• Honda plans to invest $2.5 billion to build hybrid vehicle plant in Ohio, Nikkei says
• Venezuela's Rodriguez promises elections in transition to 'full democracy'
• Ukrainian foreign minister says he discussed keeping tension low with Iranian counterpart