US chief negotiator arriving in India for talks on bilateral trade deal: Govt official

Trump administrations chief negotiator Brendan Lynch is arriving tonight to hold a daylong talk on IndiaUS bilateral trade deal which were impacted after imposition of 50 per cent import tariffs by the US on Indian goodsThe meeting comes days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi warmly reacted to US President Donald Trumps positive assessment of trade ties between the two countriesFive rounds of negotiations for the IndiaUS bilateral trade agreement BTA have been held and the sixth round of talks scheduled from August 2529 was postponed following the imposition of 50 per cent tariffs on Indian goods by the USWe have indicated that in the past also the discussions are going on the chief negotiator of the US is visiting India tonight and tomorrow will be holding talks to see what can be the pictureIt is not the sixth round of negotiations but it is definitely discussions on the trade talks and trying to see how we can reach an agreement between India and the US Rajesh Agarwal Indias chief negotiator and a special secretary in the commerce ministry said here on MondayHe further said India and the US have been engaged in discussions through virtual mode on a weekly basisThere have been discussions going on but we were not progressing much because the overall environment was not conducive Now we see there is a window the official saidHe however added that Tuesdays talks should not be seen as a 6th round of talks but it may decide on future course of actionTomorrows talks will be a precursor to the sixth round of negotiations Agarwal saidLynch is the Assistant US Trade Representative for South and Central AsiaHe oversees the development and implementation of US trade policy with regard to 15 countries in the region including management of the USIndia Trade Policy Forum TPF as well as coordination of activity under Trade and Investment Framework Agreements TIFAs with regional partnersIndias exports have been affected following the imposition of 50 per cent tariffs on shipments to the USLast week Prime Minister Modi had reacted warmly to US President Donald Trumps positive assessment of trade talks between the two countries expressing confidence that the ongoing negotiations will pave the way for unlocking the limitless potential of the partnership between themAfter weeks of strain in ties over Trumps tough rhetoric following his decision to impose 50 per cent tariff on India the relations between the two countries have shown signs of a thaw of lateIt was the second time of late when Trump has spoken of his countrys ties with India and mixed it with his praise of Modi who has positively reacted to his commentsThe Trump administration has imposed 50 per cent tariffs on India including 25 per cent for Delhis purchases of Russian oil among the highest imposed on any country in the worldIndia has described the US action as unfair unjustified and unreasonableDefending its purchase of Russian crude oil India has been maintaining that its energy procurement is driven by national interest and market dynamicsThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever