India-US near to a limited trade ‘Package’ which can be followed by bilateral FTA later but sooner than Presidential elections in the USA. There was a mutual consensus reached (reportedly) between C&I minister of India and Secretary of Commerce for USA.
The trade agreement is a long pending element between the ever high relationship between the two democracies as the leaders of the time giggle among themselves more than Manmohan Singh and Bush previosuly.
The last efforts were made when Donald Trump visited India under the banner of ‘Namastey Trump’ although no agreement could have reached citing the trade deficit USA has with India. Trump was anyway able fo clinch USD 3bn defence equipment deal while he took her AF1 back to US.
The recent development says restoration of GSP (Generalised System of Preference) which was cancelled by the Trump administration in June 2019 alongside Turkey for the agricultural products in specific, later subjected to wider implications.
India has been said to have asked in favour of exemptions from high duties imposed on steel and aluminium products alongside market access for farm products. USA has asked a base for ICT as well as farm and manufacturing sector access to the Indian markets.
The issues regarding Social security contributions by Indian professionals in the USA and the side asking that the basic needed requirements of the US have to be fulfilled by India.
India has raised the issue of its 24 products kept under TVPRA (Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act) which does not allow access to US markets. This issue still remains to be a matter of discussion between the counterparts on the two sides.
