INDIA and the US expect to sign a formal trade deal in March, after which New Delhi will lower tariffs on US goods, trade minister Piyush Goyal said on Thursday (5), giving the first official timeline for the deal's adoption.
The two countries will issue a joint statement within four or five days, after which Washington will cut duties on Indian exports to 18 per cent from 50 per cent. India, in turn, will buy about $500 billion (£367bn) worth of US goods over the next five years, including $70–80 billion (£51.4-£58.7bn) of Boeing aircraft, Goyal said.
Under the deal announced on Monday (2), US president Donald Trump slashed US tariffs on Indian goods in exchange for New Delhi stopping Russian oil purchases, bringing down tariffs and purchasing $500bn worth of American goods.
"A formal agreement on this deal will take 30-45 days and will be signed in March," Goyal told reporters in New Delhi.
Goyal said India will increase purchases of energy, aircraft and chips from US. He added orders placed or ready to placed for aircraft, along with engines and other parts, would be worth about $100bn.
Piyush Goyal Getty Images
Last month, Tata Group-owned Air India said it had nearly 200 aircraft on order with US planemaker Boeing, while another smaller airline, Akasa Air, said it has orders for 226 Boeing 737 MAX jets.
Indian stocks rallied after Monday's announcement of the India-US deal, as the agreement removed uncertainty about the future of the relationship between the two allies.
However, India's main opposition party is putting pressure on the government to give details on the deal as there is concern about how much the agriculture sector has been opened.
On Tuesday (3), officials from both sides said India will grant the United States some limited access to its market for agricultural products but maintain key protections.
(Reuters)
