US chief negotiator coming to India to resume trade deal talks, says report days after Trump-Modi icebreaker

Brendan Lynch, who is the Assistant US Trade Representative for South and Central Asia, will formally continue the talks with his Indian counterpart, commerce department special secretary Rajesh Agrawal, on Tuesday, the ANI report further said.

A visit by the US team was originally scheduled between August 25 and 29, but it was called off amid rising tensions over massive tariffs imposed by the US on Indian products as “penalty” for the country’s purchase of Russian oil “funding the Ukraine war”.

Of the tariffs, 25 per cent came into effect in the first week of August as part of a global trade rest by the US; and the additional 25 per cent over the Russian oil kicked in on August 27.

Since then, the US side made some heated statements, even referencing caste and taking personal jibes.

India stuck to a more measured approach, questioning the US logic and underlining that it has a sovereign right to buy from whoever it deemed fit for its national interest.

Tempers have since cooled as India too sought to stress its historic Russia ties and moved towards a thaw with China.

Trump has since called the Russia-Ukraine war and the need for oil sanctions “more of a Europe problem”. He spared India a mention as he urged the European Union (EU) to put tariffs on China too.

This came after a thaw apparently on social media between Trump and Modi, following which it was not immediately confirmed when exactly the negotiations would resume. But people familiar with the matter had said that could be within days.

It’s since March-April that India and the US have been negotiating for an interim trade deal. At one point, the US side said one of the reasons for the “punitive” tariffs was that the talks were taking too long.

But there are clear reservations from the Indian side on the US demand for opening up its domestic agricultural and dairy sectors to American products. PM Modi has said he would protect farmers’ interests.

Those red lines will be on focus in the talks that orignally aimed to have a pact in place by September; now the aim is to complete a first stage of the agreement by October-November.