India, US trade teams engaged in negotiating mutually beneficial FTA: MEA

Key Highlights

• “It’s very near; when both sides are ready and they feel that it is the right time to announce,” Agrawal is quoted as telling reporters.
• He also said that negotiations on the FTA have been continuing, and had never broken down, and that the engagement had been continuing at various levels.
• In December, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal held a virtual meeting with US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer to discuss the trade deal, while US Ambassador Sergio Gor has said that both sides are working to firm up the trade agreement.
• The positive engagements come in the backdrop of strains in the bilateral ties that had crept in following US President Trump’s decision to slap 50 percent tariffs on India, including 25 pc as a punitive measure for its imports of Russian oil.
• On the Jaishankar-Rubio call, the US Embassy said that the two ministers had held “a positive call” during which they discussed next steps regarding the bilateral trade negotiations, critical minerals and a possible meeting next month.