US media revealed: India-US tariff negotiations, India proposes

Source: Global Times

Bloomberg reported on the 6th that, according to informed sources, in the trade negotiations with the United States, India has proposed a "zero-for-zero" tariff arrangement proposal for specific goods (including steel, auto parts, and pharmaceuticals). However, this proposal is based on the principle of reciprocity and is limited to a certain quantity of imported goods. But Washington is concerned about India's quality control orders, considering them as non-tariff trade barriers to its exports.

Informed sources said that India's trade representative submitted this proposal during a visit to Washington last month. These negotiations come at a time when the US government announced a 90-day suspension of the so-called "reciprocal tariffs." Bloomberg said that against the backdrop of the contraction of the US economy, Trump said on the 4th that some trade agreements may be reached as early as this week, which has led countries including India to hope to accelerate the progress of negotiations with the United States. Informed sources revealed that the two countries are currently giving priority to promoting negotiations in some key areas. According to data from India's Ministry of Commerce, in the new fiscal year, India's exports of pharmaceuticals to the United States amounted to $10.5 billion, and exports of engineering products reached $19.1 billion.

The so-called "reciprocal tariffs" of 26% imposed by the United States on India have been put on hold, but the benchmark tariff of 10% is still in effect. The report said that imported industrial products exceeding a certain quantity threshold will be subject to tariffs at the regular rate.

The "zero-for-zero" proposal has attracted widespread attention. Previously, India's Business Standard reported in mid-April that official Indian sources revealed that due to the different economic development levels of the United States and India, the proposed bilateral trade agreement between the two countries is unlikely to adopt the "zero-for-zero" tariff strategy.

Informed sources said that Washington also requires India to address its concerns about quality control orders, and the United States believes that these quality control orders are non-tariff trade barriers. India's quality control orders require both domestic and foreign manufacturers to meet the standards set by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), but they have been criticized for their lack of transparency and unfairness. These rules have become a focal point in the trade negotiations, and the US side believes that these regulations unfairly limit the market access of US companies. A report shows that there were only 14 quality control orders before 2014, and since 2017, this number has increased to more than 140.

It is still unclear whether these proposals will be part of the final agreement.

According to a report in The Times of India on the 6th, US President Trump claimed on Tuesday that India has agreed to reduce tariffs on imported US goods to "zero" and insisted that this decision was made entirely because of him. However, the Indian side has not issued an official statement on this matter because the US-India trade negotiations are still ongoing.

Disclaimer: The views in this article only represent the personal views of the author and do not constitute investment advice on this platform. This platform makes no guarantee regarding the accuracy, completeness, originality, and timeliness of the information in the article, nor does it assume any liability for any losses caused by the use or reliance on the information in the article.