The trade deal finalised by India and the United States is likely to be signed next month, Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Thursday. The two countries are likely to sign and issue a joint statement on the trade deal in the next four to five days, the minister added.
According to Goyal, the first tranche of documents on the bilateral trade agreement announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and United States President Donald Trump is almost ready.
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The two countries hope to sign a joint statement on the trade deal in the next four to five days, said Goyal, adding a formal agreement is likely to be signed around mid-March.
The minister informed that the US will issue an executive order after the signing of the Joint Statement to reduce tariffs on Indian goods to 18 per cent, from the existing 50 per cent.
India is likely to reduce its tariffs imposed on US goods after the signing of the trade agreement.
Speaking at the signing of the Terms of Reference with the GCC countries (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE), Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal said the joint statement will need to be converted into a legal agreement before it is signed.
“Once the joint statement is issued, it needs to be converted into a legal agreement. We are targeting for March for this agreement to come into force. This legal agreement will give us the authority to reduce our tariffs. Their tariffs are executive tariffs. Our tariffs are MFN tariffs. Our MFN tariff reduction can only take effect after the legal agreement has been signed,” the official explained.
Trump had announced on Monday night that the two countries had agreed to the much-delayed trade deal and the US was immediately reducing its tariffs imposed on Indian imports to 18 per cent from the 50 per cent imposed last year. PM Modi had shortly later confirmed the agreement, stating Made in India products will attract lower US tariffs.