“…I would like to emphasise that both India and the US are in discussions about this matter,” Jaiswal said during a press briefing, signalling a possible breakthrough in ongoing negotiations.
Earlier, minister of state for commerce and industry Jitin Prasada told Parliament that India and the US were planning to negotiate a trade agreement, and that both countries would focus on increasing market access, reducing import duty and non-tariff barriers, and enhancing supply chain integration.
“Both countries plan to negotiate a mutually beneficial, multi-sector bilateral trade agreement,” he said.
In 2023, the US-India bilateral trade in goods and services totalled $190.08 billion ($123.89 billion in goods and $66.19 billion in services). That year, India’s merchandise exports to the US were $83.77 billion, while imports were $40.12 billion, leaving a trade gap of $43.65 billion in favour of India.
In 2023-24, India exported engineering goods worth $17.62 billion to the US. The other major goods included electronics ($10 billion), gems and jewellery ($9.9 billion), petroleum products ($5.83 billion), textiles ($4.7 billion) and marine products ($2.5 billion).
Content Source: economictimes.indiatimes.com