US-India Resume Tariff Negotiations in New Delhi... Aiming for First Agreement in November

Held 2 Months After 5th Round of Talks Failed... US Delegation Arrives in India Yesterday

US President Trump (left) and Indian Prime Minister Modi [AFP Yonhap News. Reproduction and database prohibited]

Trade talks between the two countries, which had stalled after the US imposed a "retaliatory" 50% tariff on Indian products last month citing reasons such as imports of Russian crude oil, will resume after a two-month hiatus.

According to AFP and the Indian daily Indian Express on the 16th (local time), delegations from India and the US are scheduled to meet in New Delhi, the Indian capital, for trade negotiations today.

This marks two months since the 5th round of talks was held in Washington in mid-July.

Initially, the US negotiation team was scheduled to visit New Delhi from the 25th to the 29th of last month for the 6th round of talks, but suddenly canceled the schedule, and the two countries have virtually been unable to hold face-to-face negotiations until recently.

Indian broadcaster NDTV reported that Assistant USTR Representative for South and Central Asia, Brendan Lynch, is expected to be part of the US delegation.

An Indian government official, who requested anonymity, also told another local media outlet in an interview that Assistant Secretary Lynch arrived in New Delhi the previous day and is expected to attend today's meeting.

However, it is understood that this meeting between the two countries is at a level of preliminary coordination ahead of full-fledged trade negotiations.

The negotiations come a week after US President Donald Trump stated that he would continue to negotiate with India to eliminate trade barriers.

He wrote on the social media platform Truth Social last week, "I am confident that there will be no difficulty in reaching a successful conclusion between the two great nations."

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also consistently expressed his willingness to negotiate recently.

Prime Minister Modi said, "We are close friends and partners," and added, "We are working to finalize the negotiations as soon as possible."

However, foreign media reports that at a similar time, President Trump demanded that the European Union (EU) impose tariffs of up to 100% on India and China, indicating that the conflict between the two countries remains unresolved.

Recently, India's Minister of Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal, stated that the goal is for both countries to conclude a phase-one trade agreement by November.

Previously, the US imposed a 26% national tariff on India in April, and although the two countries held five rounds of negotiations thereafter, they failed to reach an agreement due to differences over reducing tariffs on US agricultural products and India's cessation of Russian crude oil purchases.

Ultimately, President Trump imposed an additional 25% retaliatory tariff on India for its oil trade with Russia, on top of a 25% reciprocal tariff, which was 1% lower than the previous one.

The 50% tariff is among the highest rates imposed by the US on its global trading partners and is the same as the tariff imposed on Brazil. Yonhap News