India is expected to sign another free trade agreement with the US on some farm products, but it also wants to increase exports to the country on some products like rice, fisheries, and spices
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s endearing meeting with the family of US Vice-President JD Vance on Monday took place alongside some hard business talk. In the short bilateral meeting between the two leaders, the mood was accommodating rather than confrontational, which mirrors the pattern of the US-India trade negotiation.
India has been actively engaged in bilateral trade talks with the United States, for which virtual discussions have been followed up with physical deliberation.
According to top sources, the mood in the bilateral meeting between Modi and Vance was keeping in mind the goal of increasing trade between India and US to $500 billion by 2030. The main area of negotiations is the farm sector.
While India has agreed to buy more oil and natural gas from the US, it has also cut reciprocal tariffs on some agricultural products like pistachios and almonds. But, the US wants more.
The country wants more of its agricultural products to be exported to India. The three main crops, which it wants should have greater access to the Indian markets, are corn, (maize), cotton and soybean.
This is where a bit of a dilemma comes in for India, which is primarily an agrarian economy. The three contentious farm laws had to be rolled back as, politically, the central government cannot afford to alienate farmers. Hence, the focus of the trade talks was also on agricultural exports.
India is expected to sign another free trade agreement with the US on some farm products, but it also wants to increase exports to the US on some products like rice, fisheries, and spices.