New Delhi, February 16 A team of Indian officials will visit the US next week to finalize the legal text for a temporary trade agreement, which is likely to be signed in March, Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal said on Monday.
The visit is likely to begin on February 23.
Earlier this month, India and the US released a joint statement to announce that a framework for a temporary trade agreement has been finalized.
"The joint statement lays out the details of the agreement. Now, these details need to be translated into a legal agreement, which will be signed between the two sides," he told reporters here.
Both sides are engaged in finalizing that legal agreement, and virtual talks are underway for that purpose.
"Next week, (India's) chief negotiator Darpan Jain will lead a delegation to the US to finalize the legal (agreement) to work towards the legal agreement. That work will continue next week in Washington, and if necessary, thereafter in July and March," Agrawal said.
Jain is the joint secretary in the Commerce Ministry.
The secretary said that there is an effort to close and sign the deal in March, "but I have not set a deadline for it".
"Because finalizing the legal agreement also has certain complexities, which both sides will have to resolve," he said.
Under the temporary trade pact, both sides would extend duty concessions to each other on a number of goods traded between them.
The US has announced that it will reduce the reciprocal tariffs on Indian goods from 25 per cent to 18 per cent. It has already eliminated the 25 per cent punitive tariffs on India for buying Russian crude oil.
Agrawal said that the US is working on reducing the reciprocal tariffs from 25 per cent to 18 per cent.
"I am told they are processing it. It should be done quickly," he said, adding that "our expectation is that it should be done this week. But, if it is not done, the team is there next week, and we can pursue and see why it is taking time".
Normally, the agreement is that 18 per cent will be finalized in the temporary pact, and the remaining tariff lines, wherever reciprocal tariffs are expected to go down to zero, that will only be done after the legal agreement is signed, he said.
"And from our side also, any reduction in tariff, any market access, preferential market access will be extended only after the legal agreement is signed," the secretary said.
On cotton, he said that India imports around $200-250 million of US cotton on average.
"And the variety being imported, I presume, is the same variety which we get preferential market access for," he added.
