NEW DELHI: In the latest sign of an impasse in negotiations for the much-discussed bilateral trade deal between India and US, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman Monday said that the talks have “reached a plateau”.“The agreement negotiations are still ongoing, although we’d like to believe that both sides have reached a plateau beyond which giving or taking might be very, very difficult. But maybe if there are rooms to operate from, both sides would do it,” she said at the Munich Security Conference. Sitharaman said the US would seek to reduce the trade imbalance with India, estimated at $34 billion last year, compared with $41 billion in 2024-25. The gap is expected to narrow further as India has stepped up energy purchases from the US.The finance minister’s comments come days after US Trade Representative (USTR) Jaimeson Greer said a deal is not imminent. “I don’t think there’s something imminent, but we truly have identified the universe of items that are sticking points. We’re working diligently toward them,” he said after meeting commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal.During a phone call last week, PM Modi and US President Trump had discussed bilateral trade along with defence, energy and other issues.
India-US treaty only possible once government knows tariffs’ extent
Indian and American officials have been engaged in talks, which they repeatedly said had nearly been finalised. While the US has been seeking to push its agricultural products into India through lower tariffs, the recent law allowing up to 100% duty for importing Russian oil is seen to be a fresh stumbling block.In any case, an agreement is only possible once govt knows the extent of additional tariffs that its exports may face. Currently, USTR has imposed an additional duty of 10-12.5% on over 50 countries for their alleged failure to check the import of goods using forced labour, while investigating a structural overcapacity in countries, including India, which has denied the charge.In Feb, India and the US had agreed to a bilateral trade agreement with the Trump administration levying an additional 18% tariff on Indian exports, but it was put in abeyance after the Supreme Court termed the “reciprocal tariffs” as illegal.