Clarity on next round of US-India trade talks closer to August-end: Commerce Secretary

Next round of US-India trade talks will be clarified closer to August-end: Commerce Secretary

India is engaged with US on Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) negotiations, said Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal on August 14.

Next round of US-India trade talks will be clarified closer to the end of month, he said after announcing the trade data for July.

Trump last week imposed an additional 25% tariff on Indian goods due to India's purchase of Russian oil, bringing the total levies on Indian exports to the US to 50%.

Last week, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that India will never compromise on the interests of its farmers, fishermen and the dairy sector, and declared he was prepared to bear a significant personal cost if necessary.

India's merchandise trade deficit widened sharply in July, pushed by a surge in imports, even as merchandise exports rose ahead of President Donald Trump's tariff announcements on trading partners including India, government data released on Thursday showed.

The trade deficit stood at $27.35 billion in July, higher than economists' expectations of $20.35 billion, and against $18.78 billion in the previous month. Goods exports rose to $37.24 billion in July, up from $35.14 billion in June, while imports rose to $64.59 billion, up from $53.92 billion in the previous month, the data showed.