Bonjour, new guests from small-town India
Puneet Dhawan of Accor is brimming with ideas on ways to revive the hospitality sector
US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer - REUTERS
India has to reduce its import tariffs to have a closer economic relationship with the US, US Trade Representative (USTR) Robert Lighthizer has said.
“The US can’t have a relationship where one country has tariffs five or six times higher than theirs... It is a political decision and a business decision. I am not saying that there should be no tariffs on anything. We have our own politics and security issues. But that is a single (largest) issue you have. You have very high tariffs. In fact, more than other developing countries,” Lighthizer said at a ‘Fireside Chat’ at the CII Partnership Summit on Wednesday.
The USTR said that he and Commerce & Industry Minister Piyush Goyal had talked about a small Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) deal (an agreement that allows exporters of certain products from a country duty-free/lower duty market access to the US) but both preferred to work on a bigger free trade-like pact.
“We both felt that what was ultimately needed was a large free trade-like agreement between India and the US that will cement things in a way that other things won’t. And that will be good for economics as well as security of the two countries. That will help us write the rules of trade going forward. I think that we have already made headway,” he said.
The US is India’s top trading partner, accounting for $88.9 billion in 2019-20.
Talking about barriers to trade, Lighthizer said: “We in the US have all our tariffs bound. And it is about 3 per cent or so... By contrast, India has 75 per cent of its tariffs bound and the bound rate is at about 50 per cent. So these are very very high rates for a $2.8 trillion economy.”
While acknowledging that India’s effective tariffs were substantially lower, he said they were still about five times higher than the US’. “So tariffs are a problem. We don’t think India is interested in reducing tariffs on an MFN basis (same reduction for all trading partners), but if we did have a deal, then we could reduce tariffs in ways that would be helpful I think to both of us,” he said.
Under the Trump regime, India and the US have been working on a FTA, but high demands from the US and India’s refusal to give concessions in sensitive areas such as agriculture and medical equipment did not allow a pact to be concluded.
The USTR said that while bilateral trade between India and the US had grown phenomenally in the last five-six years, the trade deficit suffered by the US had not changed and was at around $29 billion-$30 billion annually.
Puneet Dhawan of Accor is brimming with ideas on ways to revive the hospitality sector
Citroen’s first vehicle sports a novel design and European interiors. It is also meant to be as comfortable as ...
The pandemic is only the tip of the iceberg that the country’s cash-poor airlines — both regional and national ...
The government is yet to specify the framework of its recently announced old vehicle scrappage policy
With initial public offerings galore, we give you a cheat sheet to score some good grades
Biggest risk in selling funds in a rising scenario is exiting early and missing out on further gains
Go for a standard vector-borne diseases policy if you don’t have a regular health plan
No credit risk is an attraction, but note the nuances
With the public looking beyond mainstream media for reports from the ground, independent digital platforms are ...
Mughal Gardens in the Capital open to visitors — albeit with Covid-19 protocol — for the annual Udyanotsav
Salty, buttery, cheese coated or with maple syrup and bacon — popcorn is lending its adaptable self to gourmet ...
A toast to a traditional drip irrigation system still going strong in the Northeast
Its name is the starting point of a brand’s journey and can make a big difference in the success sweepstakes
Sober spirits are the in thing
A peek into where ad spends went last year and where they are headed tomorrow
Can Swiggy Instamart disrupt the ecommerce groceries space, currently ruled by the Amazons and Big Baskets? ...
Three years after its inception, compliance with GST procedures remains a headache for exporters, job workers ...
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives of companies are altering the prospects for wooden toys of ...
Aequs Aerospace to create space for large-scale manufacture of toys at Koppal
And it has every reason to smile. Covid-19 has triggered a consumer shift towards branded products as ...
Please Email the Editor