A worrying template

A FAIR PACT WILL ELUDE INDIA IF US BASES ITS NEGOTIATIONS ON DEALS WITH MALAYSIA AND CAMBODIA

- ABHIJIT DAS

IN THE CONTEXT of finalising the first phase of the India-US trade deal, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal has recently stated that "when the deal will become fair, equitable and balanced, you will hear good news".

If the agreements signed by President Trump with Malaysia and Cambodia in the last week of October are indicators, the possibility of the US agreeing to a fair, equitable, and balanced trade agreement with India, or most other countries, appears remote. Let us examine this issue.

At the outset, it is crucial to recognise that there is considerable similarity in the contents of the bilateral agreements of the US with Cambodia and Malaysia. Many provisions in the two agreements are almost identical. It would, therefore, not be incorrect to conclude that President Trump and his officials are negotiating trade agreements with various countries based on a common template-a longstanding tradition of the US in the past free trade agreements negotiations. Consequently, it is unlikely that the substantial contents of the India-US trade agreement would be very different from the Cambodia-Malaysia template. Of course, on certain issues there could be India-specific variations. As discussed below, it is difficult to accept the Cambodia-Malaysia template as being fair, equitable and balanced.