NEW DELHI: The United States has cancelled a planned visit by its trade negotiators to New Delhi from August 25 to 29, delaying talks on a proposed bilateral trade agreement, Indian business and financial news network NDTV Profit reported on Saturday, citing people familiar with the matter.
The visit for a round of negotiations for the proposed bilateral trade agreement will most likely be rescheduled, according to the NDTV Profit report, citing sources, adding that both sides remain in touch, but a fresh schedule for talks has yet to be finalised.
This development came after US President Donald Trump hit 25 percent tariffs on India in July and threatened to “substantially” hike them on Indian imports over the country’s purchases of Russian oil.
The upcoming round of talks was much anticipated, given that it was scheduled around August 27, which is when the imposition of the additional 25 percent secondary sanctions on India is to take place, the report added.
The fall deadline of September–October for finalising the first tranche of the bilateral trade agreement between India and the United States appears uncertain.
On Thursday, senior government officials said India remained “fully engaged” with Washington on the proposed trade deal, with talks continuing across multiple levels, from formal negotiating teams to ministerial, diplomatic channels, and industry-level interactions.
Describing the US as a “very important trade partner”, the officials said clarity on the next round of talks — scheduled for August 25 in New Delhi — would emerge closer to the date, while reaffirming the agreed fall timeline.
On Thursday, India said that it hoped relations with the United States would move forward based on mutual respect and shared interests, seeking to temper worries that ties were headed downhill in the aftermath of high tariffs imposed by Washington.
New Delhi has accused the US of double standards in singling it out for Russian oil imports and called the tariffs unfair, unjustified, and unreasonable.
