Why are Indian and U.S. leaders cooling off on a trade deal? | Explained
Trade negotiations between India and the U.S. have stalled, with officials from both nations describing the progress as having reached a plateau. Disagreements over sovereign policy demands and tariff hikes have prevented the finalization of a long-delayed interim trade agreement.
Why it matters
The failure to reach a trade deal impacts economic relations between two of the world's largest democracies and signals ongoing friction in bilateral trade policy.
The story so far: Between statements by U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer that the India-U.S. trade deal is not “imminent” and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s recent remarks that the deal has reached a “plateau”, the commentary on both sides seems to suggest that deal negotiations have hit a roadblock. There are several reasons behind this, with both countries digging in their heels on various issues.
Last week, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal held a bilateral meeting with Mr. Greer on the sidelines of the G20 Trade Ministerial in the U.S., following which he said that the discussions had been “productive” and had focused on the “early conclusion” of an interim agreement under the larger India-U.S. Bilateral Trade Agreement.
Within hours, however, Mr. Greer addressed the media and said that although negotiations had reached their final stages, he doesn’t think “there’s something imminent” regarding the deal.
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