TAA, GSP and removal of trade barriers may be discussed during Tai's India visit next week

New Delhi India is keen to get the Trade Agreements Act-designated country status by the United States and may push Washington to restore the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) benefits, while the US may ask New Delhi to facilitate American exports to bridge huge bilateral trade deficit during the US Trade Representative Katherine Tai’s India visit next week, two officials aware of the development said.

- Rajeev Jayaswal and Rezaul H Laskar

The USTR is visiting New Delhi from January 12-14, 2024 and is scheduled to meet external affairs minister S Jaishankar and commerce minister Piyush Goyal to discuss issues related to trade and investments, they said requesting anonymity. The US is India’s top export destination with $44.47 billion exports in the first seven months of FY24 (April-October 2023) and $24.88 billion imports from America in the same period.

“India wants the US to recognise it as a Trade Agreements Act (TAA)-designated country to further deepen ties between the two economies and boost trade and investment in an environment of mutual trust, which saw withdrawal of seven vexed disputes to benefit both partners,” the first official said. The six outstanding issues pending at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) were mutually resolved in June 2023 while the seventh and the last issue settled in September that year.