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Washington needs additional talks to gauge how ambitious India's government is willing to be to secure a trade agreement, Greer said in an interview on CNBC on Monday. He acknowledged he had previously suggested a deal with New Delhi might be imminent, but highlighted that India's historic policy of strongly protecting its market meant that reducing barriers would represent a major reversal.
'We continue to speak with our Indian counterparts, we've always had very constructive discussions with them,' he said.
The comments indicate that India's hopes of securing an interim trade deal before the Aug. 1 deadline are fading as New Delhi and Washington are yet to find a common ground on contentious issues. While India was among the first nations to approach the White House for trade talks earlier this year, it has recently toughened its stance in negotiations.
India's Ministry of Commerce and Industry didn't immediately respond to an email seeking further comment.
'They have expressed strong interest in opening portions of their market, we of course are willing to continue talking to them,' Greer said. 'But I think we need some more negotiations on that with our Indian friends to see how ambitious they want to be.'
He spoke a few days after Indian Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said he was optimistic that an agreement could be reached to avert threatened tariffs of 26%. Goyal insisted there weren't any sticking points in the US-India relationship, and said that immigration rules — including those around H-1B visas for skilled workers — had not come up in talks.
Greer did not say what would happen if no deal was reached with India by the White House's deadline. US President Donald Trump has touted zero tariffs in the preliminary agreements with the European Union and Japan, while promising to impose even higher duties on Aug. 1 for countries that haven't cut deals.
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Trump has separately threatened to hit countries like India and China with 'secondary tariffs' for buying oil from Russia.
As part of its trade negotiations, India has expressed willingness to offer zero tariffs on some goods like auto components and pharmaceuticals, while barriers on sectors like agriculture and dairy remain red lines it won't breach in the final agreement, Bloomberg News reported earlier this month.
'The thing to understand with India is their trade policy for a very long time has been premised on strongly protecting their domestic market. That's just how they do business' Greer said.
'And the president is in a mode of wanting deals that substantially open other markets, that they open everything or near everything.'
Slow Business
The uncertainty on India-US trade agreement has slowed business activity in some sectors, with industries from gems to toys and textiles witnessing order suspensions.
Kanodia Global, a manufacturer and exporter of home fabrics and textiles to the US, said customers including Walmart Inc. are turning cautious and holding out on giving large orders.
US buyers want shorter delivery time as they don't want their money stuck while the final tariff rate changes, said the company's director Ashish Kanodia. 'Our orders are stuck in limbo. If certainty is there, we will be able to move forward.'
Sabyasachi Ray, executive director at The Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council, also expressed concern over weak business. 'People are tired,' he said. 'We will be highly affected. But something has to come, so we will see.'
(Updates with more details from 13th paragraph)
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