Indian Delegation Plans US Visit To Seal Trade Deal As Trump Ramps Up Tariff Threats: Report

As President Donald Trump steps up the pressure on trading partners to budge, India has shown equal urgency in getting a deal done. After India was left out of the list of more than a dozen nations to which the president dispatched letters this week, an Indian delegation is reportedly planning to visit Washington in the coming days to negotiate a deal.

A Bloomberg report, citing an official familiar with the matter who sought anonymity, said the talks planned will likely cover both the interim and the broader bilateral agreements. 

India and the U.S. have been working toward reaching an interim pact before finalizing the first phase of the bilateral deal by this fall. 

The lingering trade uncertainty hasn’t dented market sentiment, amid hopes that deals would be done and the impact of the levies would be better than feared.

After declining for two consecutive days, the S&P 500, a broader measure of U.S. stock performance, rebounded on Wednesday.

The  SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY), an exchange-traded fund (ETF) that tracks the S&P 500, is up 7.2% for the year, while the iShares MSCI India ETF (INDA) is up a more modest 5.7%.

Separately, New Delhi’s chief negotiator, Rajesh Agrawal, had stated on Thursday that his team had traveled to the U.S. three times to push for the deal. 

India has reportedly discussed the best terms it can offer to the U.S. and has also outlined areas where it can’t compromise. 

If India successfully negotiates a deal, it could become the third trading partner, after the U.K. and Vietnam, to clinch an agreement. Incidentally, the European Union, Washington’s largest trading partner, is also pushing for a framework agreement to avert a higher levy that would take effect by early August.

Trump’s threat of imposing additional tariffs on countries participating in the BRICS alliance further clouds the tariff talks between the U.S. and India. 

Among the key points of contention between the two sides is America’s push for India to open its market to genetically modified crops, which the latter has rejected because it would harm farmers’ interests.

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