A team of US officials will visit India in the coming weeks. It is believed that during this time the proposed interim trade agreement between the two countries will be discussed. This visit of US officials is important because India and the US want to reach an interim trade agreement before July 9. The Indian government is demanding a complete exemption from the 26 percent reciprocal duty on goods made in the country.
India’s chief negotiator and special secretary in the commerce ministry, Rajesh Agarwal, is back in India after concluding his four-day visit to Washington last week where he negotiated the proposed deal with his US counterpart.
He met US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick twice during his visit. The US had imposed an additional 26 per cent reciprocal duty on Indian goods on April 2. However, it was later suspended till July 9. The 10 per cent basic duty imposed by the US on Indian goods is still in force.