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After weeks of uncertainty, India and the United States are set to resume trade talks. The US' Chief Negotiator Brendan Lynch will be arriving in India tonight
to join the deliberations, government sources told Times Now. This signals a renewed push by Washington and New Delhi to break the deadlock. The relations between India and the US have been strained since Trump's administration unilaterally imposed sweeping tariffs on Indian goods entering the US. India has called the tariffs "unjustified".
US Chief Negotiator To Visit India
The US’ Chief Negotiator is scheduled to arrive in New Delhi tonight to take part in the latest round of trade talks, government sources told Times Now. The in-person discussions in New Delhi will begin tomorrow, with the next round of talks to be scheduled soon. They said that India and the US have been in constant touch, engaging virtually on a weekly basis.
New Delhi and Washington have been negotiating a bilateral trade agreement (BTA) since March. The two sides have so far held five rounds of talks, and for the sixth round, a US team was expected to visit India from August 25, which was later cancelled.
Negotiations were underway with an aim to complete the first tranche/phase of the pact by fall (October-November) of 2025, when Trump administration announced 50% tariff on India.
Reset in Ties Signalled By Trump-Modi
After weeks of Trump aides targeting India over Russian oil imports, a thaw has been visible between New Delhi and Washington. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Trump also exchanged messages on social media platform X (formerly Twitter).
India and the US are natural partners, and teams from both sides are working to conclude negotiations on a bilateral trade deal, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Wednesday in response to US President Donald Trump's remarks that efforts are on to address "trade barriers" between the two countries.
Trump's Big Admission
US President Donald Trump, last week, admitted that imposing tariffs on India was "not an easy thing to do," and it causes "a rift." "Look, India was their biggest customer. I put a 50 per cent tariff on India because they're buying oil from Russia. That's not an easy thing to do. That's a big deal and it causes a rift with India," Trump said in an interview with 'Fox and Friends' Friday, when asked what clamping down on Russian President Vladimir Putin entails.
"And remember this is a Europe problem much more than our problem," Trump highlighted. US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, on Thursday said that India is one of the top relationships the US has in the world today, and Washington is in a period of "extraordinary transition" in that relationship with Delhi.
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