US trade representative Jamieson Greer has said that “some more negotiations” are needed with India to finalise a trade agreement, his comments coming as the clock ticks to US President Donald Trump’s August 1 deadline.
India’s trade delegation, led by chief negotiator Rajesh Agrawal, had returned from Washington after a fifth round of negotiations without a breakthrough.
"We continue to speak with our Indian counterparts, we've always had very constructive discussions with them," Greer was quoted as telling CNBC.
India, Greer said, has "expressed strong interest in opening portions of their market".
Last week, a Reuters report quoted Indian government sources as saying that: “Indian officials disclosed that talks have stalled as New Delhi is unwilling to open its politically sensitive agriculture and dairy sectors, while Washington is resisting India’s demand for relief from higher tariffs on steel, aluminium and automobiles. According to a second Indian official, negotiators are exploring whether these contentious issues can be deferred to a later stage, after an interim agreement is reached.”
Greer told CNBC: "We, of course, are willing to continue talking to them. But I think we need some more negotiations on that with our Indian friends to see how ambitious they want to be.
"The thing to understand with India is that their trade policy for a very long time has been premised on strongly protecting their domestic market. That's just how they do business," the US official said.
Trump had threatened to impose a 26 per cent tariff on Indian imports earlier this year but paused the move to make room for negotiations.
That pause expires on August 1, though India is yet to receive a formal tariff letter, unlike over 20 other countries.
