India and US postponed trade talks on Monday to finalise interim trade pact, following US Supreme Court order and changes announced by US President Trump
It is still early to comment on the tariff changes announced by US President Donald Trump, Indian finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman told the media on Monday.
“On trade, particularly, aside from the Indian economy in general, the Commerce Ministry is reviewing the situation. The delegation will have to take a call on when they are going to go for further negotiations. So, it’s a bit too early for me to comment,” the minister said.
India and the US have postponed trade talks to finalise the text for an interim trade pact on Monday, following the US Supreme Court order and the subsequent changes announced by Trump.
The earlier agreement reduced US tariffs on Indian goods from 50 per cent to 18 per cent, even though several aspects of it remained unclear.
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The commerce ministry earlier said it was reviewing the impact of Trump’s latest announcement. “We have noted the US Supreme Court judgement on tariffs. President Trump has also addressed a press conference in that regard. Some steps have been announced by the US Administration. We are studying all these developments for their implications,” the ministry said in a statement.
After the US court verdict against the sweeping import tariffs imposed by the administration on its trade partners, Trump imposed a 10 per cent tariff on India and other countries for 150 days. Later, he raised it to 15 per cent.
Sitharaman pointed out that India has inked pacts with the UAE, Qatar, Oman, the EU, the UK, Australia and New Zealand. “Our attempt to have a trade agreement will go on with countries,” she said, as India wants to trade globally and reach out to global markets.
Earlier in August last year, Trump had imposed 50 per cent tariffs on Indian goods, especially as penalties for buying Russian oil. After several meets this was brought down to 18 per cent earlier this month.
Following the Supreme Court’s decision on tariffs, Trump said there was no change in the trade deal with India.
