India, U.S. trade deal collapses

While US president Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s bilateral meeting was expected to come as a breather amidst the spiraling tensions of the two countries, little has been achieved in terms of advancing their trade relations. This is because the two sides failed to bridge the gap in their positions during Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal’s presence in New York to conclude a trade package with U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Robert Lighthizer. Some of the areas where the two parties had differences related to removal of tariffs on ICT products by India, removal of price caps (“Trade Margin Rationalization” or TMR) on medical devices and greater access for US’ dairy products and some other categories of agricultural goods. India, on its part, wanted the restoration of the GSP status by US.