‘No talks on trade deal if US doesn’t remove 25% tariff’: India’s clear message to Trump

Trump had announced an additional 25 per cent tariff on India due to crude oil imports from Russia.

New Delhi: The long-running trade talks between India and America have once again fallen into crisis. India is not going to bow down to Trump’s pressure strategy. It has been made clear from India’s side that there will be no talks until America removes the additional 25 per cent duty. This information was shared by the Indian Express in a report quoting a senior official of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

Donald Trump stopped US delegation

According to sources, the US delegation was going to come to New Delhi on August 25 to continue the talks, but President Donald Trump suddenly stopped this trip. Trump described India’s purchase of oil from Russia as a major obstacle and said that no trade deal is possible until this issue is resolved.

The official said that the government is continuing talks with the USA, and only the round of talks scheduled for August 25 has been postponed.

India is not negotiating a trade agreement right now

The official said, “We are not negotiating a trade agreement right now, but the talks are still going on. To negotiate the agreement, the additional 25 per cent duty will have to be considered first. Because if we do a trade agreement and the additional duty is still in place, it will not matter to our exporters.”

Trump had announced on August 6 that an additional 25 per cent duty would be imposed on India’s crude oil imports from Russia. He said that this move by India is against American interests, and this has affected the prospects of a balanced trade agreement between the two countries.

Efforts for a comprehensive trade agreement between India and the USA

Efforts have been going on for a comprehensive trade agreement between India and the USA for the last several years. Issues related to agriculture, information technology, medicines, and energy sector have come up in several rounds of talks. However, the agreement has often been stuck due to disagreements over duty and import-export terms. In 2019, the duty dispute between the two countries escalated when the US excluded India from the list of “Generalized System of Preferences” (GSP). After this, India also imposed retaliatory duties on American products.

HIGHLIGHTS

• India says that there will be no talks until America removes the additional 25 per cent duty.
• The US delegation was going to come to New Delhi on August 25 to continue the talks, but President Donald Trump suddenly stopped this trip.
• Trump described India’s purchase of oil from Russia as a major obstacle.
• The official said that the government is continuing talks with the USA, and only the round of talks scheduled for August 25 has been postponed.

Trump had announced on August 6 that an additional 25 per cent duty would be imposed on India’s crude oil imports from Russia. He said that this move by India is against American interests, and this has affected the prospects of a balanced trade agreement between the two countries.