India and US aim to expand farm trade, resolve market access issues

The 2 international locations agreed to hurry up work for increasing commerce in agricultural commodities together with shipments of Indian mangoes and pomegranates to U.S. markets and cherries and alfafa hay for animal feed from the US to India, they stated in a joint assertion.

Chairing the assembly of the joint discussion board, convened after a niche of 4 years, Tai and Indian Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal directed their officers to accentuate efforts to resolve points and take into account a ministerial assembly subsequent 12 months.

“The discussion board heralds a brand new starting in India-U.S. commerce partnership,” Goyal stated in a tweet after the assembly.

New Delhi and Washington have sparred over a variety of points together with tariffs for over a 12 months, hampering the prospects of concluding a bilateral commerce bundle.

Tuesday’s assembly adopted Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s assembly with U.S. President Joe Biden in Washington in September when each leaders agreed to broaden commerce ties to strengthen relations.

America agreed on Tuesday to look into India’s demand for exporting grapes, whereas New Delhi would take into account permitting imports of U.S. pork and pork merchandise, the assertion stated.

Tai, accompanied in New Delhi by Deputy U.S. Commerce Consultant Sarah Bianchi, earlier raised problems with market entry restrictions, excessive tariffs, unpredictable rules and restricted digital commerce between the 2 international locations.

India has been resisting a U.S. demand to decrease tariffs, arguing that utilized tariffs had been means under the permissible restrict beneath the WTO guidelines, whereas in search of extra exports of products and providers.

Bilateral items’ commerce between the 2 international locations within the first 9 months this 12 months rose almost 50% from a 12 months earlier as their economies reopened after restrictions as a result of pandemic, and is about to surpass $100 billion this 12 months, the joint assertion stated.