India, US trade deal 'very near'; both sides engaged on pending issues: Comm Secy
New Delhi (PTI): India and the US are "very near" to finalising the trade agreement, and it would be announced when both sides are ready, Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal said on Thursday.
The negotiating teams of both sides are discussing virtually all pending issues, he said.
"Its very near, but we can not put a deadline because that will happen...when both sides are ready and they feel that this is the right time to announce," he told reporters here.
The talks between India and the US had never broken down, and both sides remained engaged, he added.
In the last week of December, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal held a virtual meeting with US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer.
The December meeting between Goyal and Greer happened after the visit of a delegation led by Deputy USTR Rick Switzer on December 10 and 11.
In his arrival speech on January 12, the US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor asserted that both sides are actively engaged to firm up a trade deal.
The imposition of steep 50 per cent tariffs by the Trump administration has strained the bilateral relations.
Apart from the additional import duty issue, relations witnessed a severe strain on many other issues, including Trump's claim of ending the India-Pakistan conflict in May last year and Washington's new immigration policy.
"The United States and India are bound not just by shared interests, but by a relationship anchored at the highest levels. Real friends can disagree, but always resolve their differences in the end," Gor has said.
The Ambassador has noted that India and the US are actively engaged on the proposed bilateral trade deal days after Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick suggested Washington was not very keen to seal the deal soon.
Agrawal also said the bilateral trade between the countries is registering positive growth.
When asked if it is possible that there may not be a trade deal, the commerce secretary said: "We get into all (trade pact) negotiations with a very positive and optimistic mindset....we are engaged with the US. Both sides are engaged. So, I think both sides feel that this can be done".
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Patna-bound IndiGo flight makes emergency landing at Lucknow due to bad weather
Lucknow (PTI): Adverse weather forced an IndiGo Kolkata-Patna flight to make an emergency landing at Lucknow airport on Friday, airport sources said.
According to airport officials, weather conditions in Patna deteriorated suddenly on Friday afternoon, affecting flight operations.
IndiGo flight 6E 6917 from Kolkata, which was scheduled to land in Patna at 3.50 pm, could not land due to bad weather and kept circling in the air after failing to get clearance from air traffic control, they said.
The flight was later diverted to Lucknow and landed safely at the Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport at around 5.15 pm. There were 180 passengers and six crew members on board, officials said.
The aircraft was later allowed to depart for Patna after weather conditions improved.
