Describing US President Donald Trump's announcements to impose 25 per cent import duty and penalty on exports from India from August 1 as unfortunate and disappointing, FICCI has expressed hope that such action that is harmful for bilateral trade will prove to be short-lived.
FICCI said that the US is a big market for Indian exporters and it is also important to note that India provides a huge market for American businesses. Many big US companies benefit from the demand as well as our skills and talent pool.
FICCI President Harsh Vardhan Agarwal said, 'FICCI is disappointed with the US decision to impose 25 per cent duty and penalty on exports from India. Though this move is unfortunate and will have a clear impact on our exports, we are hopeful that the imposition of higher import duties will be a short-term event and a permanent trade agreement between the two sides will be finalised soon.'
Agarwal said India and the US have a long-standing partnership and this has been strengthened by growing cooperation between the two in various sectors, from technology to defence, energy and advanced manufacturing.
Two countries can achieve a lot together
The FICCI chief said, 'The two countries can achieve a lot together, and FICCI is confident that after the detailed deliberations currently underway, when the contours of the final trade agreement emerge, we will see beneficial results for both countries.'
FICCI said India has been actively negotiating a trade agreement (BTA) with the US since the beginning of this year, and 'we understand that there have been some specific demands from the US side which are not in our national interest and therefore the Indian government has not accepted those demands of the US.'
US team is visiting India in the latter half of Aug
The US team is visiting India in the latter half of August to further discuss the BTA. FICCI hopes that both sides will progress in their discussions and conclude the negotiations by September-October.
FICCI said that the US is an important market for Indian exporters in both goods and services and the industry would like to enter into a long-term sustainable agreement with the country. As our Commerce and Industry Minister has emphasised, India will prioritise national interests over meeting deadlines in trade negotiations. Our aim is to ensure a win-win agreement and not a hastily signed one that may offer short-term gains but may have adverse consequences in the long term.'
Prakash Kumar Pandey