Indian team back from US; trade talks to continue
The Indian team, led by chief negotiator Rajesh Agrawal, has returned from Washington after concluding another round of talks on an interim trade pact, but discussions will continue as certain issues in the agri and auto sectors still need to be resolved, an official said. The official said that the talks are in the last phase and its conclusion is expected to be announced before July 9. "Indian team is back from Washington. Negotiations will continue. There are certain issues which need to be resolved in agriculture and auto sectors," the official said. The Indian team was in Washington for negotiations on an interim trade agreement with the US from June 26 - July 2.
These talks are important as the suspension of Trump's reciprocal tariffs is ending on July 9. The two sides are looking at finalising the talks before that. India has hardened its position on giving duty concessions to American farm and dairy products as these are politically sensitive sectors.
On April 2, the US imposed an additional 26 per cent reciprocal tariff on Indian goods but suspended it for 90 days. However, the 10 per cent baseline tariff imposed by America remains in place. India is seeking full exemption from the additional 26 per cent tariff. India has not opened up the dairy sector for any of its trading partners in free trade pacts the country has signed so far. The US also wants duty concessions on certain industrial goods, automobiles, especially electric vehicles, wines, petrochemical products, and agricultural items like apples, tree nuts, and genetically modified crops. India is seeking duty concessions for labour-intensive sectors like textiles, gems and jewellery, leather goods, garments, plastics, chemicals, shrimp, oil seeds, grapes, and bananas in the proposed trade pact.
The two countries are also looking to conclude talks for the first tranche of the proposed bilateral trade agreement (BTA) by fall (September-October) this year. The pact is aimed at more than doubling bilateral trade to USD 500 billion by 2030 from the current USD 191 billion. Before the first tranche, they are trying for an interim trade pact. The US team was here last for the talks. India's merchandise exports to the US rose by 21.78 per cent to USD 17.25 billion in April-May this fiscal, while imports rose by 25.8 per cent to USD 8.87 billion.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
18 minutes ago
- Time of India
Tata Power plans to contest Rs 4k-cr Singapore arbitral order
MUMBAI: Tata Power, the utility arm of the Tata Group, plans to contest the $490 million (Rs 4,200 crore) verdict handed down by the Singapore arbitral tribunal. The ruling stems from alleged breaches of confidentiality agreements with investment firm Kleros Capital Partners concerning a potential coal mining project in Russia. At Tata Power's annual shareholder meeting on Friday, chairman N Chandrasekaran said: "The company is reviewing the contents of the July 1 arbitration award and is discussing with lawyers. It will look at all options, including challenging the decision." He emphasised, "This is top of the agenda." The Singapore International Arbitration Centre granted Kleros a monetary award totalling more than $618 million. This included $490 million in damages, alongside interest payments exceeding $120 million (calculated at 5.33% from Nov 30, 2020 - when the lawsuit commenced - until payment settlement), and $8 million in legal costs with interest (at 5.33% from July 1, 2025--when the verdict was issued-until final payment). Tata Power has not accounted for any provisions in its financial accounts in relation to the arbitral award. Since July 1, Tata Power stock has lost nearly 1.5%. On Friday, the stock on BSE closed at Rs 401. The Singapore arbitral tribunal held that Tata Power breached certain clauses of the non-disclosure agreements it had entered. However, in its FY25 report, the Indian company maintained that Kleros's case was an afterthought and therefore lacked merit. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Is your tinnitus getting worse? Do this immediately (Watch) Hearing Magazine Undo Also, Kleros failed to substantiate its project value claims concerning loss of opportunity and compensation negotiations. Consequently, Tata Power believed its position was strong and deemed it unnecessary to make provisions concerning the arbitration ruling, the FY25 report showed. In another dispute, Adaro International (Singapore) has sought damages of $106 million from Tata Power for alleged contractual breaches. Tata Power, in turn, has filed a counterclaim for $229 million for losses suffered due to non-supply of coal by Adaro. According to its FY25 report, Tata Power entered into a coal supply agreement with Adaro for its Trombay, Mumbai power plant, which required it to procure a certain quantity of coal annually. Both parties have initiated arbitration proceedings. Responding to shareholders' questions regarding ongoing litigation cases, Chandrasekaran said: "With regard to the other arbitration case, the company believes that it should definitely challenge that. That is something that is waiting for resolution." The company currently imports 15 million tonnes of coal yearly for its domestic thermal power operations. Interestingly, Tata Power is reassessing its thermal power strategy, four years after deciding to focus on green energy instead of expanding thermal power. Chandrasekaran said: "The company had declared that it will not expand in coal-based energy. However, this decision is being reviewed by the board due to the increasing demand for electricity in the country. The country may not be able to switch off all coal projects in the near future. It may take longer because the country's net zero target is 2070 whereas the company's target is 2045. So to meet the immediate demands of the industry, should there be a need to look at participation in additional coal-based projects is something that the board constantly looks at. " He indicated that the company has no intentions to convert its coal-based power plants to gas-based plants. "Our coal plants will be coming to the end of their life in the next 10 to 15 years. After that, we will slowly replace them with renewables". Stay informed with the latest business news, updates on bank holidays and public holidays . AI Masterclass for Students. Upskill Young Ones Today!– Join Now
Deccan Herald
19 minutes ago
- Deccan Herald
Donald Trump and his transactional presidency
If, shortly, you read that Donald Trump has managed to annex Greenland, Canada, Panama, and Palestine, you should not in the least bit be surprised. After all, Trump, no original thinker, has been following in the footsteps of Andrew Jackson, the 7th president of the US, and Adolf Hitler – two men for whom territorial expansion through military might, economic blackmail, and genocidal practices was perfectly acceptable. Thucydides, the 5th century BC historian and author of The History of the Peloponnesian War, famously wrote, 'the strong do what they can and the weak suffer what they must.' It is only a matter of time before Trump's bullying tactics will result in the whole world, save China, giving in to his Trump's territorial expansion plans to come true, the new US would be the largest country in the world, and its population density would go down almost 50%. Annexing Canada and Greenland will add 4.8 million square miles and 43 million people to the American Empire. The latter figure would only be 33 million if one takes into account Trump's plans to deport over ten million 'illegal' immigrants, almost all of whom are non-white, to various third countries such as El Salvador, Guatemala and South Sudan, which would result in a 30% increase in the combined population density of these countries. Contrast this with the 100-year Pax Britannica period, 1815 to 1914, when Britain added around 10 million square miles of territory and 400 million people to its is an ulterior motive behind Trump's plan to grab Canada and Greenland. These two countries have enormous mineral resources, especially rare earth minerals that are essential in powering electric vehicles, data centres, and consumer/military electronic products. Currently, the US relies on China for its supply of rare earth minerals, a state of affairs that challenges its hegemonic status in the stated intention to grab Palestine and expel its occupants to parts unknown is reminiscent of what President Andrew Jackson (1829-37), labelled 'King Andrew', achieved through the genocidal Indian Removal Act of 1830. The act, which authorised the president to grant Indian tribes unsettled western prairie land in exchange for their desirable territories, resulted in the militarily forced displacement, by foot, of over 100,000 native Americans (thousands died along the way) from the southeastern states to the less desirable central regions. The native Americans were granted US citizenship only in 1924 through an act of Congress; however, they could not vote – a right that was conferred upon them only in 1965. In his second term as President, Trump has been actively pursuing the elimination of birthright citizenship for the children of illegal immigrants, and, unfortunately, he seems to be succeeding..A major cause of World War II was a wrongly perceived need for more living space ('Lebensraum'), Hitler's desire to expand Germany's borders to the east. Hitler was motivated by the so-called Septemberprogramm, a memorandum of German war goals in 1914 which proposed economic and military dominance through territorial expansion in Europe and the colonies in 'Make America Great Again' is no different from the British Empire's rationale for justifying the Opium Wars of 1839-42 and 1856-60 between Qing-dynasty China and Britain – two wars that were more about European mercantile interests forcing China to legalise opium, thereby protecting an illegal and very profitable opium trade by East India Company to overcome a huge trade deficit. The US has a current trade deficit of $295 billion with most punitive of Trump's latest tariffs have been directed at China and many developing and less developed economies in the Global South, in particular Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, India, Bangladesh, and Myanmar – countries which are easily susceptible to being economically and militarily coerced by the US into forming alliances against China. Just recently, Vietnam was coerced into allowing Trump to set up his first golf course in the country. The latest US Defence Intelligence Agency's report characterised China, not Pakistan, as India's principal adversary. If India is forced into an alliance with the US against China, it will end up as collateral damage, much like Laos and Cambodia during the Vietnam keeping with his goal of attaining national purity by getting rid of 'undesirable' populations, Trump has dismantled all Diversity, Equity, and Inclusivity (DEI) programmes set up by previous presidents and shut off their funds. Eager to please Trump and ensure their government contracts are not impacted, private companies and universities have followed suit by cancelling their own DEI programmes. Trump and his MAGA followers are committed to making America white again, a hearkening back to a pre-civil rights, slave-holding America. Were you aware that the grandfather of Trump acolyte Elon Musk moved from Canada to South Africa because he preferred to live in racist white South Africa, and that some of Trump's forebears actively collaborated with elements of the Third Reich? As the saying goes, 'the apple never falls far from the tree'..Martin Luther King's dream of his children 'one day living in a nation where they are not judged by the colour of their skin but by the content of their character' is far from being realised. Trump's slogan of making America great again is only about making America a right-wing white Christian nation and spreading, through military might and economic domination, this unipolar message across the globe. The unipolar message, greatly amplified by social media and Big Tech, does not resonate with China. Pax Britannica culminated in the First World War. Will Pax Americana follow in its footsteps?.History teaches us that trade wars invariably end up being shooting wars. A third Opium War is in the offing, and it is not going to be pretty..(The writer is a retired professor; he has written extensively and presented lectures on the societal and geo-political implications of technology)
Time of India
22 minutes ago
- Time of India
Weak Re boosts foreign currency FDs
CHENNAI: A weak rupee was among the reasons that made foreign currency deposits attractive for NRIs. The net inflow under foreign currency non-resident (B) accounts increased by 11% to $7.1 billion in FY25 from $6.4 billion in FY24. It comes after NRIs pulled out their deposits earlier, turning the category negative during 2020-21 and 2021-22. Data available in RBI's annual reports shows that FCNR (B) recorded a net outflow of $3.8 billion and $3.6 billion during two pandemic years of 2020-21 and 2021-22, respectively. However, its net inflow revived during 2022-23 and stood at $2.4 billion. In FY25, the net inflow under non-resident deposits basket comprising non-resident external (rupee) account (NRE), non-resident ordinary (NRO) account and FCNR (B) was at $16.2 billion, the highest in the past 11 years. Of this, FCNR (B) share was 44%. RBI raising the interest rate caps on FCNR (B), allowing banks more freedom to offer better returns also fuelled its growth. FCNR(B) account is a type of fixed deposit account designed specifically for NRIs and persons of Indian origin (PIOs). The money is held in international currencies such as the dollar, British pound, euro, Australian dollar, Canadian dollar, Swiss franc, and Japanese yen, which protects depositors from exchange rate fluctuations. While the duration of term deposits ranges from 1 year to 5 years, interest earned on FCNR(B) accounts is tax-free in India. Private sector South Indian Bank, which has a sizeable NRI customers base particularly in the Gulf countries, says it has experienced a steady growth in NRE, NRO, and FCNR(B) accounts over the last three financial years at 3%, 5% and 6%, respectively. "The relative strength and stability of foreign currencies such as the US dollar further incentivized NRIs to invest in these accounts. Additionally, the depreciation of the rupee enhanced the appeal of foreign currency deposits as a hedge against exchange rate risk," said Biji S S, senior general manager and head of branch banking, South Indian Bank. Tanvi Kanchan, head - NRI business & strategy, Anand Rathi Shares and Stock Brokers said, "Looking ahead to FY26, inflows are expected to rise further. This is because interest rates in India are still relatively high." Stay informed with the latest business news, updates on bank holidays and public holidays . AI Masterclass for Students. Upskill Young Ones Today!– Join Now
