Trade talks: India, US officials likely to meet next week

Senior officials of India and the US are likely to meet next week here to discuss trade-related issues, sources said Tuesday. A team of US Trade Representative (USTR) is expected to hold the meeting with senior officials of the commerce department, they said.

This would be the first meeting on trade issues after the meeting of Prime Minister Narendra Modi with US President Donald Trump in Japan at the sidelines of the G20 summit. The trade talks between the two countries slowed down after the US rolled back export incentives from India under their GSP programme.

India too has imposed additional customs duties on 28 US products. There are certain irritants which both the countries want to sort-out to push the bilateral trade.

The US wants greater market access for its dairy products and cut in customs duties in ICT products. The American companies have also raised concerns over price cap on certain medical devices by India. Stating that the US has taken a "unilateral position" in rolling back export incentives from India, the government has asserted that it would not allow trade negotiations to overtake issues of national interest.