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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Rupee falls 17 paise to 92.71 against US dollar in early trade
Mumbai (PTI): The rupee depreciated 17 paise to 92.71 against US dollar in early trade on Thursday as the fragile ceasefire and Iran's threat to step out of the talks if Israel kept bombing Lebanon kept investors wary.
Forex traders said markets are in a wait-and-watch mode rather than strong directional positioning as the situation in West Asia remains fragile.
Geo-Political uncertainty was still high amid Iran’s threat to step out of the talks if Israel kept bombing Lebanon, keeping investors wary of the opening of the Strait of Hormuz.
At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 92.63 against the US dollar, then gained ground to touch 92.71 against the US dollar in initial trade, registering a gain of 17 paise over its previous close.
On Wednesday, the rupee had settled at 92.54 against the American currency.
Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz again in response to Israeli attacks in Lebanon. The White House demanded that the channel be reopened and sought to keep peace talks on track.
"The fragile ceasefire could be jeopardized by the renewed Middle East tensions as Israel struck Lebanon and Iran warned of moving out of the ceasefire if strikes against Lebanon continued," Anil Kumar Bhansali, Head of Treasury and Executive Director, Finrex Treasury Advisors LLP, said.
This caused the dollar index to rise to 99.10, with the Euro and GBP both falling against the dollar. Asian currencies also fell from their Wednesday highs.
The RBI left Interest rates unchanged on Wednesday but flagged risks to the Indian economy from disruptions caused by the Iran war, Bhansali noted.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was down 0.10 per cent at 99.03
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading higher by 1.93 per cent at USD 96.52 per barrel in futures trade.
On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share benchmark index Sensex dropped 243.57 points to 77,319.33 in opening trade, while the Nifty declined 88.3 points to 23,909.05.
Foreign Institutional Investors offloaded equities worth Rs 2,811.97 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data.
Meanwhile, India's Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri met senior US officials here and discussed ways to further deepen the defence and trade relations and exchanged views on the developments in the Indo-Pacific and West Asia.
On a three-day visit here, Misri met under secretaries Michael Duffey and Elbridge Colby in the Department of Defence, and under secretaries Jeffrey Kessler and William Kimmitt in the Department of Commerce.
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