'Deal should be mutually beneficial': EAM Jaishankar on India-US trade talks

S Jaishankar

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Thursday said that trade talks between India and the US are ongoing and both sides haven't arrived at anything substantial based on those talks.

Speaking to reporters at the inauguration of Honduras Embassy in Delhi, Jaishankar said: "The trade negotiations are complicated and conclusion of these talks must be mutually beneficial. That would be our expectation from the trade deal. Until that is done, any judgment on it would be premature," remarked Jaishankar.

Jaishankar's remarks came hours after President Trump, speaking in Doha during the second leg of his three-nation West Asia tour, claimed that India had made a significant offer to the United States. “India offered US a deal, basically zero tariffs,” Trump, who is currently on a state visit to West Asia, said from Doha.

India's recent proposal to the World Trade Organisation to slap retaliatory tariffs on the US -- in response to its import duties on Indian steel and aluminium -- will also feature in the upcoming trade talks during deliberations on the bilateral trade agreement.

During the four-day talks from May 17 to 20, Union minister Piyush Goyal is expected to hold meetings with US Trade Representative (USTR) Jamieson Greer and US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. The talks also come at a point when Trump -- after announcing a surprise ceasefire agreement between India and Pakistan -- claimed that he had threatened to cut trade ties with both sides.

The latest proposal from New Delhi, as reported by Reuters on May 9, includes slashing the average tariff differential with the U.S. from about 13% to under 4%. This would represent one of India’s most significant tariff alignments with a major trading partner.

Both nations will try to take advantage of the ongoing 90-day tariff pause to reach an interim agreement and score "early mutual wins" before the first phase of the trade deal is announced in October this year.

The US has suspended 26 per cent levies on Indian imports till July 9 -- which was announced by Trump on April 2 to bridge the trade gap -- while the baseline tariff of 10 per cent still stands.