India & US aim at resolving concerns over bilateral trade, US to hand over problem-list to India

A new of round of talks between the United States and India late last month has resulted in a decision that the Trump administration will hand over a “problem-list” to India assembling all the trade issues between the two countries. This will be done next week in the hope to iron out differences over the bilateral trade that caused continued tit-for-tat actions over the past few months.

An Indian official reported to the Economic Times, “All issues were discussed. They were talking of general things, we wanted specific. They will send us a text of what they want, in the next week or ten days.”

The meet was taken place in Delhi when senior officials from the US Trade Representatives had paid a visit to Indian officials. The key topics in the meeting were America’s higher tariffs on imported aluminium and steel and preferential benefits to Indian exports under US Generalised System of Preferences (GSP). The US officials were also keen to exchange words on China’s concession offers to India under the Asia Pacific Trade Agreement that would reduce or cancel tariffs on imports of 8,549 types of goods from India, Bangladesh, South Korea, Laos and Sri Lanka.

In the meeting, India also demand market access in agriculture, automobiles, auto components and engineering goods and pressed for resumption of duty cuts for $5.6-billion worth of goods under the US GSP. 

However, the target to reduce trade deficit had not been mixed at the discussions since their primary aim was to resolve immediate concerns over the bilateral trade.

Further discussions between India and the US government will take place through e-mails and video conferences, the official reported.

Both the countries now want to resolve the issues before Indian retaliatory tariffs on American goods worth US$ 235 million, in response to US’ decision to raise import duties on Indian aluminium and steel, come into effect on 4^th of August, 2018.