Amid Donald Trump’s tariff threat, India’s domestic industry is willing to accept tariff cuts on products of interest to India as they begin to work out the details of the proposed bilateral trade agreement. They also suggest that the Government pursue a similar action by American authorities for products of interest to them.
In order to explore how the deal can be formed within the Autumn (September–October) timeframe specified by PM Narendra Modi and Trump last month, Piyush Goyal, the minister of commerce and industry, is in the United States to meet with US trade representative Jamieson Greer and commerce secretary Howard Lutnick.
Over 50 goods of relevance to India have been highlighted by the apparel sector during talks with the Government. The industry has proposed lowering or even eliminating tariffs on some of these items, including those covered under PLI.
In comparison to the US, the Government may want to lower the applicable customs charge on major clothing items, said Mithileshwar Thakur, secretary general of the AEPC, adding that the Government may also think about granting a zero-for-zero deal for all clothing items of strategic relevance, given the small amount of clothing imported into India from the US. Zero for zero refers to removing taxes in exchange for a comparable action from the trading partner.
