NEW DELHI: A team of Indian officials is in the US for talks on a bilateral trade deal as two sides seek to narrow gaps.Sources told TOI that the team is led by India’s chief negotiator Rajesh Agarwal. Farm sector has emerged as one of the contentious areas with govt not keen to offer tariff concessions in some of the sensitive sectors, such as maize and soybean, where genetically modified items dominate American farms.The latest round of talks, to last over two days, are seen as a fresh attempt to cobble together a deal before the deadline for imposition of reciprocal tariffs, which in India’s case was 26%, by July 9. After imposing reciprocal tariffs, US President Donald Trump decided to offer a 90-day suspension.While PM Narendra Modi and Trump had agreed to work on the first tranche of a bilateral trade deal by Fall (Sept-Oct), the reciprocal tariff announcement prompted negotiators to seek an early tranche.Officials have maintained that they are still working on the proposed deal but added that govt is unwilling to settle for a anything that does not take care of India’s interests.
