India must protect its farmers, digital ecosystem, policy space in trade pact with US: GTRI
New Delhi, Jun 27 (PTI) Any trade agreement with the US must not be politically driven or one-sided and India should protect its farmers, digital ecosystem, and policy space, economic think tank GTRI said on Friday.
With India's chief trade negotiator in Washington DC and the clock ticking, the next few days could determine whether India and the US settle for a limited mini-deal or walk away from the negotiating table - at least for now, the Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) said.
The two sides are looking at finalising an interim trade pact before July 9, as it marks the end of US President Donald Trump's 90-day suspension of the country-specific tariffs, originally announced on April 2.
"The more likely outcome is a limited trade pact - styled after the US-UK mini trade deal announced on May 8," GTRI Founder Ajay Srivastava said, adding, "any trade deal with the US must not be politically driven or one-sided, it must protect our farmers, our digital ecosystem, and our sovereign regulatory space."
Under a mini or interim deal, according to the think tank, India is expected to cut tariffs on a wide range of industrial goods, including automobiles, a persistent demand from Washington.
In agriculture, India may offer limited market access through tariff reductions and tariff-rate quotas (TRQs) on select US products such as ethanol, almonds, walnuts, apples, raisins, avocados, olive oil, spirits, and wine, it added.
Beyond tariffs, the US is expected to press India for large-scale commercial purchases, including oil and LNG, civilian and military aircraft from Boeing, helicopters, and nuclear reactors, it said.
"There may also be pressure on India to ease FDI restrictions in multi-brand retail, potentially benefiting firms like Amazon and Walmart and to liberalise rules on remanufactured goods, currently subject to stringent import norms," Srivastava said.
Agricultural goods account for less than 5 per cent of US exports to India.
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