India External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Saturday confirmed that the majority of the disputes related to the proposed Indo-U.S. trade pact, connected with tariff lines, have been worked out.
At the interactive discussion session during the Leadership Summit, Jaishankar said talks were getting closer to the “finishing line” and he hoped the remaining issues could be cleared up in the near future.
His statements take place ahead of likely Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s America trip for the G20 Summit next month. Modi is likely to meet US President Donald Trump out of the blue at the summit to discuss bilateral ties and developments on the proposed trade pact that is under negotiation between the two nations.
On a follow-up question on the negotiations, Jaishankar stated it is not difficult to understand that both sides are in a stage of final negotiations.
He added that the concerns were not largely on India’s side as some of the concerns were left unsolved. The External Affairs Minister claimed the changes in America are more during the course of negotiations.
As talks between Modi and Trump at the G20 Summit in Miami get under way on December 14–15, there has been speculation that the trade agreement could be announced at the conference.
He had informed Jaishankar that most of the important issues had been resolved, including some crucial tariff-related problems, he added.
The trade agreement is likely to be a key milestone in India and the United States are further developing their economic relationship. But there are still some remaining issues for both countries to work out before a final agreement is announced.