India, US Wrap Up Fifth Round of Trade Pact Talks

Quick Summary

• India and the U.S. concluded the fifth round of trade negotiations in Washington from July 14-17 regarding a proposed bilateral trade agreement (BTA).
• The talks aim to finalize an interim deal before August 1, coinciding with the expiration of suspended Trump-era reciprocal tariffs imposed on various countries including India.
• Discussions covered agriculture, automobiles, SCOMET categories (Special Chemicals, Organisms, Materials, equipment, and Technologies), and ways to address non-market economies.
• India has resisted U.S. demands for duty concessions on agricultural and dairy products due to pressure from farmer groups.
• India is pushing for removal of high additional tariffs on steel (up to 50%), aluminum (50%), autos (25%), while seeking trade benefits for textiles, gems & jewellery, leather goods, garments, shrimp exports alongside others.
• The U.S. seeks concessions on electric vehicles (EVs), industrial goods like petrochemicals and wines along with genetically modified crops.
• Merchandise exports from India to the U.S. increased by 22.8% ($25.51 billion) between April-June FY2025; imports rose by 11.68% ($12.86 billion).

Indian Opinion Analysis

India’s stance in maintaining hard lines against tariff reductions in agricultural and dairy sectors reflects its domestic priority toward safeguarding local farmers’ interests-a politically sensitive issue that often drives policy decisions nationally. While India’s push for removing high U.S.-imposed steel/aluminum tariffs signifies efforts toward alleviating direct impacts upon strategic industry implications due bilateral-sensitive downstream domino supply+systems wrapped pressures’dynamicsagm both transcend-sectionamarin-century move !Further rising prosperous–>