Ball in Washington's court on India-US interim trade pact before July 9: Sources

'If issues are settled, an interim trade pact could be announced before July 9, which marks end of 90-day suspension period of tariffs'

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NEW DELHI: With India setting its red lines on key issues in sectors such as agriculture and dairy for the proposed interim trade agreement with the US, the ball is now in Washington's court to finalize the deal, sources said.

They said if issues are settled, an interim trade pact could be announced before July 9, which marks the end of the 90-day suspension period of the Trump tariffs announced on April 2 on dozens of countries, including India.

"India has drawn its red lines... now the ball is in the US court," they said. In February, the two countries announced starting negotiations for a bilateral trade agreement (BTA). They fixed a deadline to conclude the first tranche or phase of the BTA by fall (September-October) this year. Before that, the two sides are locking to finalize an interim trade pact.