In a significant development, India has reportedly agreed upon the terms of reference (ToR) for a bilateral trade deal with the US, a report by Indian Express said on April 2.
The development was made possible following an intervention from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), the report said.
The move comes a day ahead of the deadline for the President Donald Trump’s “Liberation Day” on April 2, when the reciprocal tariffs by the US will kick in.
The ToR provides a basic framework for the trade agreement and needs approval from the highest political office of the country, the newspaper said, adding that PMO wanted a “swift finalisation” of the agreement.
The two nations are now ready to negotiate formally for a deal, which will see India cutting tariffs on American goods drastically, Express reported citing sources.
Meanwhile, Trump’s deliberations over his plans to impose reciprocal tariffs are coming down to the wire, with his team said to be still finalizing the size and scope of the new levies he is slated to unveil on Wednesday afternoon.
In meetings on Tuesday, Trump’s team continued to hash out their options ahead of a Rose Garden event scheduled to begin as US markets close at 4 p.m. on Wednesday, Bloomberg said citing people familiar with the ongoing discussions.
On Monday, the US President claimed that India is set to drop its tariffs on American products "substantially" after the new regime of reciprocal tax comes into force on April 2.
"If you look at the European Union on cars... the EU has already dropped their tariffs down to 2.5% ... which was announced two days ago ... I heard a little while ago that India is going to be dropping its tariffs very substantially..." the US President told reporters in the Oval Office, though there is no official confirmation from the government yet.
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