Tariff and non-tariff barriers across agricultural products, energy purchases, intellectual property protections, and digital trade are in play for India-US trade talks.
Both sides are also working on easing regulatory barriers and addressing concerns of US firms in areas such as e-commerce, medical devices, and agriculture.
India is expected to stick to its red lines on agriculture and dairy, to protect the interests of MSMEs, farmers, livestock holders and fishermen.
Ahead of the talks, White House Trade Advisor Peter Navarro kept his criticism of India sharp, even as Trump has struck a conciliatory tone in recent days. In an interview with CNBC on Monday, Navarro said talks on a stalled trade deal were progressing but marked apprehensions over India’s “steep” tariffs.
“India is coming to the table. Prime Minister Modi sent out a very conciliatory, nice, constructive tweet and President Trump responded to that. But as a practical matter, we know that on the trade side, they have the highest tariffs of any major country. They have very high non-tariff barriers,” Navarro remarked.
