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Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal on Tuesday said that reciprocal tariffs are both a challenge and an opportunity for India with the government negotiating a bilateral trade deal with the US.
"There are both concerns and opportunities for India in terms of the current tariffs, but India has already taken a path where we will be going for trade liberalisation with the US," he said. Earlier in the week, US President Donald Trump paused the reciprocal tariffs on dozens of countries that have engaged in negotiations with the US administration. However, the 125 per cent tariff levied on China will continue. As per the new conditions, during these three months, a reciprocal tariff of 10 per cent would be in effect on countries that have engaged in trade negotiations with the United States. "There is a clear pathway, which we have decided at the leaders' level, and then subsequently, the meetings have been held and negotiations are going on, and we have taken a path of trade liberalisation and bilateral trade agreement. So if we are on that path, if we follow that path, then I think India's trade with the US improve, which we are already targeted at about USD 500 billion, but that will also open a lot of opportunities for India and for the US as well," he said. Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal had said earlier this month that India is handling the US reciprocal tariff issue wisely, with a focus to increase bilateral trade by two and a half times. Speaking to reporters in Mumbai, the Union Minister said that discussions were making good progress. In February, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Donald Trump had decided to strengthen bilateral relations and both countries are negotiating a bilateral trade deal, expected to be finalised by the fall of this year. Commerce Secretary said that it is very difficult to guess the impact of tariffs but the change in the global trading order will always give some opportunities to India. As a follow-up to the India-U.S. Joint Statement of 13 February 2025, wherein the two sides agreed to expand bilateral trade to reach USD 500 Billion by 2030, including through the conclusion of a Bilateral Trade Agreement, representatives of India's Department of Commerce and the Office of the US Trade Representative convened in New Delhi from March 26 to 29, 2025. In order to realize the shared objective of promoting growth that ensures fairness, national security and job creation, both sides, through four-days of discussions in New Delhi, broadly came to an understanding on the next steps towards a mutually beneficial, multi-sector Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA), with the goal to finalize its first tranche by fall 2025. Barthwal said Indian and American trade delegations will hold discussions on a Bilateral Trade Agreement this week. "The initial talks will take place virtually, followed by an in-person meeting in the latter half of May when the Indian trade team will travel to the United States," he added. (ANI)
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