India, US near closure on first trade pact package

THE FIRST PACKAGE of the proposed Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) between India and the US — covering reciprocal tariffs, penal taxes on Russian oil purchases, and key market access issues — is nearing closure, a senior official said on Monday.

- MUKESH JAGOTA

“We are engaged with the US on the BTA. It has two parts. One part of the negotiations will take time.The other part is a package that can address reciprocal tariffs. We are working on both aspects. The package, which can address reciprocal tariffs, is more or less near closure,and we should get it soon,” the official said.

The US has imposed 25% reciprocal tariffs on Indian imports to bridge the trade gap and another 25% over India’s crude oil purchases from Russia, taking the total additional levy to 50%.