India-US Trade Talks Stall Over Agricultural Import Demands

• India resists US demand for lower duties on maize and soybean imports.
• Talks stall ahead of July 9 deadline for Trump’s reciprocal tariffs.
•   India insists on a fair, balanced, and mutually beneficial trade deal.

The India-US proposed trade deal has run into a new snag, with New Delhi digging in its heels against Washington's efforts to reduce import tariffs on farm products such as soybean and maize, The Times of India reported. Indian policymakers have argued that such concessions could harm local farmers and raise public health issues, including the possibility of genetically modified foods entering the country.

People close to the negotiations told us that negotiations have stalled. Unless a limited agreement is brokered by the July 9 deadline when US President Donald Trump's suggested mutual tariffs are to be implemented, Indian exporters might have to pay as much as 26% tariffs.

Indian authorities are said to see 10% as the baseline tariff suggested by the US as not enough, particularly given that it is to be applied universally to all trading partners without any special consideration.

Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, addressing the India Global Forum in London recently, reiterated that any free trade agreement has to be one of mutual gains. "Each negotiation is on its merit," he said. "A deal is sensible only when it is a win-win situation for both fair, equitable, and balanced. Without that, no agreement can be sustainable."

Earlier, on June 16, Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal had been optimistic that an initial phase of the Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) would still be finalized before the July 9 deadline, even in the face of increasing challenges.