Union Commerce Piyush Goyal on Tuesday said that negotiations between India and the United States on the interim trade deal will resume “as soon as there is more clarity” on the changes in tariffs announced by Washington, PTI reported.
Goyal’s remarks at an event in Delhi came as India and the US on Sunday decided to reschedule a three-day meeting that was supposed to begin on Monday between officials to finalise the legal text of the agreement.
The meeting was postponed after the US Supreme Court on Friday struck down global tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump, ruling in a 6:3 verdict that he had exceeded his authority.
The judges said that the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act that Trump had invoked “does not authorise the president to impose tariffs”.
In April, Trump imposed the tariffs on dozens of countries, including India, claiming high tariffs the countries imposed on US goods.
The levies were eventually reduced once bilateral trade deals had been agreed to, including in the case of India.
On February 2, New Delhi and Washington had agreed on a framework for the deal.
Under the agreement, US tariffs on Indian goods would have been reduced to 18% from a combined rate of 50%. The earlier rate of 50% had included a punitive levy of 25% imposed in August over India’s purchase of Russian oil.
After the Supreme Court struck down his tariffs, Trump on Friday described the move as “ridiculous, poorly written and extraordinarily anti-American”. Soon after the ruling on Friday, he also imposed a temporary 10% tariff on goods imported into the US, citing his authority under the 1974 Trade Act.
The new tariff are for a maximum of 150 days, unless the US Congress approves an extension. This left the status of recent trade deals with other countries, including India, unclear.
Additionally, Trump on Saturday said that he was also increasing the global tariffs to the “fully allowed, and legally tested” level of 15% from 10% with immediate effect.
However, it is unclear as to when the increased tariff rate would take effect as only the original 10% rate announced by the White House on Friday came into force on Tuesday.
On Saturday, Trump further warned that additional tariffs would follow.
With respect to India, the US president had said on Friday that “nothing changes” and that the levies on the country will continue. “They’ll be paying tariffs and we will not be paying tariffs,” he told reporters at the White House.
On Saturday, India’s commerce ministry said that it was studying developments in the US on tariffs and their implications for India.
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