India is aiming to fast-track the critical bilateral trade agreement with the US. Amid the growing clamour over the wide-ranging tariffs announced by the US President Donald Trump, latest reports suggest that the officials from both sides are interested in finalising a preliminary trade agreement.
A report by the Mint said that both New Delhi and Washington may strike a preliminary pact, which will keep crucial topics such as intellectual property and immigration out of the ambit.
The ‘mini’ trade agreement may have relief for some pharma sector products, lentils and almonds, the Mint report added. New Delhi wants to finalise the contour of the trade pact based on the structure in the trade pacts with other nations such as Australia, UAE.
The report said that the template regarding reduction of duties goes well with New Delhi strategy of balancing domestic interest along with global demands.
The Mint report added that ahead of the full-fledged BTA, which was part of joint statement by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Donald Trump in February last month, the discussions are on for the prelim pact.
