India and the US desire to give preferential market access to each other's businesses and teams of both the countries are working together on the proposed bilateral trade agreement, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal has said. In February, US President Donald J Trump and Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi announced plans to negotiate the first tranche or phase of a mutually beneficial, multi-sector Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) by fall (September-October) of 2025.
Nepal on Friday became the 147th member of the World Trade Organisation with the protocol of accession coming into force.
India and the US are engaged in Geneva, the WTO headquarters, to sort out the food stockpiling issue and end the stalemate.
In a major development, India and the US have agreed to end six trade disputes at the WTO through mutually agreed solutions, while New Delhi will remove retaliatory customs duties on certain American products such as almonds, walnuts, and apples.
The agreement could substantially reduce transaction times and costs and would unlock new opportunities for both rich and poor countries.
'While criticising India's high tariffs, Mr Trump stated he would impose reciprocal taxes on Indian products if re-elected.' 'However, since India's tariffs follow WTO rules, Mr Trump's actions would violate these rules,' Ajay Srivastava points out.
Agreement 'endorsed' by members and being legally vetted but will be part of the main Doha agenda only after a tenuous process.
Notwithstanding the failure of WTO members to reach a consensus on Trade Facilitation Agreement to simplify global customs rules, India on Friday said it remains committed to the pact and will continue to pursue its proposal to find a permanent solution to its food security issues.
The proposals will be reviewed by the World Trade Organization's General Council.
The US agreed to India's proposal on food security issues at WTO on Thursday.
Under the TFA, a proposal of developed countries, WTO members are negotiating ways to facilitate trade, simplify and harmonise customs rules and reduce transactions cost. Although India is willing to negotiate on TFA, it has raised few concerns over the proposed agreement.
Of Trump's reciprocal tariffs and trade deals
Critics have even suggested that India is doing this because it is not prepared to take on the requirements of TFA, with a relatively weak trade infrastructure.
Even as the bilateral relationship between the two neighbouring countries remains hostile, there is growing coordination between India and Pakistan on one multilateral forum - the World Trade Organization (WTO). Both countries have made two joint submissions at the WTO as co-sponsors in the past two months. In June, Pakistan joined India, Cuba, and 44 African countries, seeking sufficient flexibility in intellectual property rights for developing countries to fight the Covid-19 pandemic.
Sitharaman said that developed countries were blaming India for the impasse at the WTO, but India convinced them about its legitimate demand.
Indonesian Trade Minister Gita Wirjawan, Chair of the Ninth Ministerial Conference, and the three Vice Chairs, in a joint statement, urged 'all WTO members to come together over the next few days to make the necessary breakthroughs, working closely with WTO Director General Roberto Azevedo.'
Speaking at the CII's partnership summit in Jaipur, Azevedo who is the Director General of WTO, also said the member countries should implement the trade facilitation agreement on time as it would help in reducing cost of commerce and boosting exports.
India has reiterated that members have spent over a decade on the Doha Round and it should not be kept hanging.
'When Prime Minister Modi met President Trump, they agreed to initiate a bilateral trade dialogue.' 'It makes sense to give these negotiations a chance.'
ndia has said it is ready to sign the global trade deal as early as next month if other WTO members agree to its demand for concessions on food subsidies.
The US Trade Representative noted that India's average applied tariff rate stood at 17% per cent, the highest of any major world economy.
'We may see even more restrictive policies during 2.0.'
From toys, footwear and furniture to insulated flasks, smart meters, and air coolers - the Central government over the last decade has mandated higher standards for production and imports of such items. Sample this: Till 2014, there were 14 Quality Control Orders (QCOs) covering 106 products. By the latest count, there are 156 QCOs on 672 products.
India and the United States settled a dispute on Thursday that had paralysed the World Trade Organization and risked derailing a $1 trillion package of reforms.
This will be an area where bilateral or regional trade pacts may not be able to perform well.
This was a very strong position and was criticised by many, both from the developed and developing world.
Hailing the agreement reached between India and the US aimed at resolving the stalemate over the WTO trade facilitation pact, Australia on Friday said the gains from the deal once it is sealed are "significant" and the developing nations would be its Hailing the agreement reached between India and the US aimed at resolving the stalemate over the WTO trade facilitation pact, Australia on Friday said the gains from the deal once it is sealed are "significant" and the developing nations would be its biggest beneficiaries.biggest beneficiaries.
The WTO has already significantly lowered its sights since a decade of Doha talks broke down, forcing the body to focus on a much less ambitious set of reforms.
Commerce minister makes strong case for food subsidy to poor.
The Director General of World Trade Organisation, Pascal Lamy, today urged to speed up the negotiations on the Doha Round as the Trade Promotion Authority in United States is expiring in June.
Still, the failure of the agreement should signal a move away from monolithic single undertaking agreements that have defined the body for decades.
The differences between the rich and developing nations have always been at the core of the World Trade Organisation, set up in 1995 to facilitate greater trade flows across the world, and it came as a major breakthrough when the US and India reached a deal over food security issues in 2014.
As hard bargains continue for the next four days at the picturesque tourist resort of Indonesia, the ministers., including from the influential developed countries will try and reach agreements on providing windows to the developing nations for their food security programmes and a pact to free the global trade from the procedural hassles at the customs.
Chinese ambassador to India, Xu Feihong, on Wednesday expressed hope that the recently completed Indo-China border disengagement in Eastern Ladakh would smoothen relations and pave the way for a better understanding between the two neighbours in the days ahead.
India supports dialogue and diplomacy and not war, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said at the Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa (BRICS) Summit in Kazan, Russia on Wednesday, in an unambiguous message calling for resolution of the Russia-Ukraine conflict through peaceful negotiations.
At the meeting of the 160-member World Trade Organisation in Geneva on Friday, India demanded a halt to the trade facilitation timetable till a permanent solution on public stockholding for food security is found.
A permanent solution on food security is a must for for India.
According to the final draft of the negotiating text circulated by WTO Director-General Roberto Azevedo among trade ministers of the 159 member countries on Wednesday night, on public stockholding for food security purposes, a developing country like India can provide subsidies for farm support even if those exceed the permissible 10 per cent cap.
Withdrawing a blanket ban on overseas shipments of non-basmati white rice, the government on Saturday imposed a floor price of $490 per tonne and exempted the commodity from export duty. Exports of non-basmati white rice have been banned since July 20, 2023 to boost domestic supply. "The export policy for non-basmati white rice (semi-milled or wholly milled rice, whether or not polished or gazed) ...is amended from prohibited to free, subject to MEP (minimum export price) of $490 per tonne with immediate effect and until further orders," the directorate general of foreign trade (DGFT) said in a notification.
Several member states of the World Trade Organisation voiced frustration after India's demands for concessions on agricultural stockpiling led to the collapse of the first major global trade reform pact in two decades.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances