India-US trade deal negotiations moving well: US Treasury Secretary

Washington DC [US], April 29 : Trade negotiations with India are moving well, United States Secretary of the Treasury, Scott Bessent said on Tuesday while noting that it is easier to negotiate with India than many other countries.

Addressing a press briefing, Scott Bessent said non-tariff barriers can be "much more insidious" than tariff barriers.

"We are very close on India and it is easier to negotiate with India than many other countries because they have very high tariffs...So it is much easier to confront the direct tariffs as we go through these unfair trade deals that have been put in over decades that the non-tariff trade barriers can be much more insidious and also harder to detect. So, a country like India, which has posted and ready tariffs, makes it much easier to negotiate with them. So I think the Indian negotiations are moving well," he said.

Bessent also referred to the visit of US Vice President JD Vance to India.

".US Vice President JD Vance was in India last week. He and PM Modi made some very good progress, so I could see some announcements on India," he said.

India on Tuesday said that the meetings for negotiation of Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) with the United States are making "positive progress" and termed the discussions as "fruitful."

As part of ongoing discussions on the India-US Bilateral Trade Agreement, representatives of India's Department of Commerce and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative met in Washington DC from April 23 to 25.

This follows earlier bilateral discussions held in March in New Delhi.

A release by the Commerce and Industry Ministry said on Tuesday that during the meetings in Washington, DC, the team "had fruitful discussions on wide-ranging subjects covering tariff and non-tariff matters".

The team discussed the pathway for concluding the first tranche of the mutually beneficial, multi-sector Bilateral Trade Agreement by the Fall of 2025, including through opportunities for early mutual wins.

While productive Sectoral expert-level engagements have taken place through the virtual format, in-person Sectoral engagements are planned from May end.

The productive discussions are part of bilateral efforts in line with the Leaders' Statement of February 2025 to enhance and expand India-U.S. economic ties and supply chain integration through the Bilateral Trade Agreement.

PM Modi had visited the United States in February this year and held a bilateral meeting with US President Donald Trump

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