India, US back on deal table

Chief negotiator-level meeting in New Delhi today ahead of formal trade talks

- SHREYA NANDI

Chief negotiators from India and the United States (US) will meet in New Delhi on Tuesday for stocktaking discussions on the proposed bilateral trade agreement (BTA), signalling that talks between the two nations are back on track after a month-and-a-half-long pause.

Chief negotiator and Assistant US Trade Representative (USTR) for South and Central Asia, Brendan Lynch, is reaching New Delhi on Monday night and will hold talks with his Indian counterpart and Commerce Department Special Secretary Rajesh Agrawal on Tuesday. The one-day meeting will be a precursor to the next formal round of negotiations that will take place depending on the outcome of the discussions.

"We have been engaged in discussions at various levels. The chief negotiator of the US is visiting India tonight (Monday) and we will be holding talks tomorrow (Tuesday) to see what the future of talks will be. It is not a round of negotiation, but we will try to see how we can reach an agreement," Agrawal told reporters.