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New Delhi: The US team is expected to visit India in June for the next round of talks on the interim trade agreement, though no dates have been finalised yet, Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal said on Friday, May 15.

The Indian side visited Washington, DC, in April for an in-person round of meetings with their US counterparts to finalise the details of the interim pact and take forward the negotiations under the broader bilateral trade agreement (BTA).

“The Indian team had visited the US last month and they had very good discussions. And we expect the US team to visit us soon. The dates for the same have yet not been finalised. But I expect it will happen soon. Not this month, but it will happen sometime next month,” Agrawal told reporters here.

He said India is engaged with the US on trade deal and it would be signed at an opportune time.

India and the US issued a joint statement on February 7 finalising a framework for an interim trade agreement.

However, a US Supreme Court ruling struck down all reciprocal tariffs, which had served as the Trump administration’s main instrument for negotiating trade deals with partner countries.

Following that, the US imposed 10 per cent additional duties on all imports under Section 122 of the Trade Act for 150 days from February 24 this year.

It also opened two probes under Section 301 of the Act against key exporters for their excess production capacities and labour standards.

Under Section 122, tariffs of up to 15 per cent can be imposed for a maximum period of 150 days.

However, under Section 301, there is no cap on the duties that can be levied by the US if investigations conclude that measures adopted by trading partners are harming US interests.

India has submitted its response to both the investigations, and consultations between the two sides are underway.

Agrawal said that India is engaged with the US on these investigations.

“We have joined the consultations which took place yesterday in the US on both these investigations. So I think once the consultation process is over, it is for the US to determine the next steps under the 301 tariffs,” he said.

With reciprocal tariffs no longer in place and flat additional tariffs applying to all exporters to America, India is now seeking provisions in the trade deal that would give it preferential access over competitors in the US market.

India’s shipments to the US grew marginally by 0.92 per cent to USD 87.3 billion during the last fiscal year, while imports increased 15.95 per cent to USD 52.9 billion. The trade surplus declined to USD 34.4 billion from USD 40.89 billion.