With ongoing talks between a US delegation and India on the contours of the proposed bilateral trade agreement (BTA) underway, a Bloomberg report has maintained that India is reviewing Donald Trump’s demands to cut import duties on farm goods and significantly reduce other barriers.
Among the proposals, New Delhi is considering lower duties on pecans, pulses and non-genetically modified soybeans, as well as dried distilled grains soluble — a by-product of ethanol production used in animal feed, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg. India is also seeking greater access for its grapes and organic farm products in the America market, the report further maintained.
Brendan Lynch, US assistant trade representative for South and Central Asia, and a team of officials are currently holding discussions in the New Delhi to prepare the groundwork for formal talks on a bilateral trade agreement. The first tranche of that deal is expected around October or November.
India has been, for weeks, working towards trying to hammer out the broad outline of a deal that could shield the country from the worst of US trade blows. A first stage is likely to focus on goods, with services to be discussed later, one of the people familiar with the negotiations informed Bloomberg.
Indian state-owned companies have been in discussions with US liquefied natural gas suppliers, a strategy also used by neighboring countries. However, steep prices have hindered major agreements. US projects face challenges such as inflation and rising construction costs, leading them to offer costlier deals that exceed the budget of Indian importers.
In 2023-24, India imported $31.9 billion of agricultural and related products from around the world, according to data from the trade ministry, including $1.56 billion from the US. This has grown over the years, but remains modest by comparison with a nation like China, which annually imports vastly more.
Vegetable oil accounts for much of that global figure’s rise. India relies on imports for about 60 per cent of its vegetable oil needs and currently buys soybean and canola oils derived from GM crops. Per details in the Bloomberg report, cooking oil refiners say they are prepared to increase soybean oil imports from the US if it is competitively priced, according to BV Mehta, executive director of the Solvent Extractors’ Association. Despite being one of the world’s largest vegetable oil importers, India doesn’t usually import much from the US because of high costs.