India says it is not committed to import ethanol under US trade deal

India's Commerce Ministry has stated that it will not consider concessions for importing ethanol from the U.S. due to existing regulations favoring locally produced ethanol.

​India will ​not offer any concessions ‌or commitments ​regarding the import of ethanol from the U.S. ‌in the India-U.S. trade discussions, the Indian Commerce Ministry said in a statement on ‌Thursday. India mandates mixing 20% ethanol with ‌gasoline. Government regulations allow the use of locally produced ethanol for mixing with gasoline.

"Accordingly, any suggestion ⁠of ​a policy ⁠change to permit large-scale imports of fuel ethanol ⁠from the U.S. is misleading," the statement said. Washington ​and New Delhi have been negotiating a ⁠bilateral trade agreement to expand market access and ⁠lower ​trade barriers as part of efforts to deepen economic ties. A U.S.-India ⁠trade agreement could be signed within three to four ⁠months, ⁠a senior U.S. official said last month.