India and the United States decided to postpone their chief negotiators’ meeting, scheduled for this week in Washington on the Interim trade deal, due to policy changes. Both nations agreed to delay the meeting and will plan it again on ‘mutually convenient’ dates after assessing the new developments.
The Indian delegation, led by Chief Negotiator Darpan Jain, was expected to visit Washington to finalise the legal text of the proposed interim bilateral trade deal with US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer.
The reschedule of the meeting came even after Trump said on Friday that the trade deal was “on track “, adding that India would continue to pay the 18 per cent tariffs, which were decided in the interim trade agreement framework.
Under the proposed trade deal, India agreed to lower tariffs on most items in exchange for the US reducing its reciprocal tariffs to 18 per cent. However, the 50 per cent tariffs on sector specific, including iron, steel, copper, aluminium, and automobiles, will remain the same.
India authorities are evaluating the Trump administration’s response to a US Supreme Court decision. Some officials think there may be an option to consider since the interim trade deal has not yet been signed.
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President Trump raised the global tariff rate to 15 per cent from 10 per cent. The significant move has come after the US Supreme Court, in a 6-3 ruling, held that his global tariffs were illegal and that he lacked the authority to impose them.
