NEW DELHI: India and the United States have rescheduled a key meeting between their chief trade negotiators that was expected to take place this week in Washington, government sources told The Times of India. Both sides have now agreed to defer the visit and will decide on “mutually convenient dates” after “evaluating the latest developments.”The meeting was set to finalise the legal text of the proposed interim bilateral trade agreement.The Indian delegation, led by chief negotiator Darpan Jain, was set to travel to the US capital for discussions with US trade representative Jamieson Greer.The postponement comes even as US President Donald Trump said on Friday that the India trade deal was “on track,” adding that India would continue to pay the 18% tariffs decided under the interim framework.Under the proposed arrangement, India has agreed to reduce tariffs on a majority of items in exchange for the US lowering its reciprocal tariffs to 18%. However, sector-specific tariffs of 50% on iron and steel, copper and aluminium, as well as automobiles and auto parts, are set to remain in place.Indian authorities are closely monitoring the Trump administration’s response to a recent US Supreme Court decision on tariffs, with some officials indicating there may be room for manoeuvre since the interim trade agreement has not yet been signed.“India has not signed the agreement yet, so there may be some scope for a dialogue. But we will wait and see how the US government responds to the ruling,” an official said, adding that it was too early to assess the full impact of the court’s decision.The rescheduling of the negotiators’ meeting signals that both sides may be reassessing aspects of the interim pact amid evolving legal and political developments in the US, even as public statements from Washington suggest that talks remain on track.
