US reluctant to cut tariffs for India below Asian peers under trade deal

The United States (US) is reluctant to grant India a tariff advantage by lowering the current 25 per cent “reciprocal tariff” under a proposed trade deal to below the levels applied to regional competitors such as Pakistan (19 per cent), Bangladesh (20 per cent) and Indonesia (19 per cent), given India’s current market liberalisation offer.

- ASIT RANJAN MISHRA

“We are dealing with each country on its own terms. What we are willing to do is definitely going to depend on what the Indian government wants to do. Can India provide zero tariff on all American products? Do you realistically think that’s going to happen? It will be great but I don’t think that will happen,” a US official said, requesting anonymity.

New Delhi’s reluctance to open up its dairy and agricultural markets has been a key stumbling block in trade talks, while Washington has been pushing for market access in soybean, corn and dairy products.