Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agarwal to visit US for trade talks

Despite the 50% tariff imposed by the US, India’s exports of goods continued to rise in September, and the government remains hopeful of reaching a trade deal with the US as soon as possible.

Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agarwal, India’s chief negotiator on the trade deal, is scheduled to leave for the United States on Wednesday evening, and a team of officials is already in Washington, D.C., trying to come up with a win-win solution. He added that India is also open to buying more crude oil from the US, provided it is at the “right price”.

Engagement between India and the US continues, Agarwal told reporters on Wednesday, adding that there is still hope for a positive outcome.

Agarwal refused to call the current round of talks the sixth round of negotiations, and pointed out that the United States is in a state of lockdown, and the strength of the American administration and the American workforce is declining. “It is not right to have full trade negotiations, but the two sides are seeing how to move forward,” he said.

The Commerce Minister’s comments come at a time when India and the United States have re-engaged in an attempt to negotiate a trade agreement by the end of the year. US Ambassador-designate Sergio Gore also met Prime Minister Narendra Modi, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Commerce Minister recently.

The US has imposed a 50% tariff on Indian exports, which includes a 25% penalty on the purchase of crude oil from Russia.

In the past, India’s energy purchases from the United States ranged between $23 billion and $24 billion, and there is now scope to purchase another energy worth between $12 billion and $13 billion from the United States, given the current trend, without worrying about the liabilities of domestic refiners.

Meanwhile, India’s merchandise exports rose 6.75% in September to $36.38 billion from a year ago, according to provisional trade data released by the Commerce Ministry on Wednesday. In August, exports reached $35.1 billion.

“It has been a turbulent year for trade, but amidst all the turmoil, India’s exports grew by 4.43% in the first half of the fiscal,” the Commerce Minister noted, adding that it was encouraging to know that India’s exports maintained the pace of growth. The industry has managed disruptions and maintained supply chains.

The impact of US tariffs on exports will be evident in September and October, and the Commerce Department plans to evaluate data on goods to understand the impact of the tariffs.

“We need to dig deeper into the data to understand how goods will perform after US tariffs. About 45% of India’s exports to the US are outside of tariffs or have most-favored nation status,” Agarwal noted, adding that he expects exports to the US to continue to grow.