Sitharaman Says India-US Trade Talks Have Hit a Plateau

India and the United States are continuing trade negotiations, but Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the talks have reached a point where further concessions by either side would be difficult. She left open the possibility of compromise if negotiators find room to adjust their positions, and did not announce a deal or a breakdown in discussions. Sitharaman made the remarks at public events in New Delhi and at the Munich Leaders Meeting. She described the agreement as difficult and rigorously negotiated, while emphasizing that discussions remain active. The specific issues still preventing agreement were not detailed in her remarks. She said the trade balance currently favors India and that the United States would want to reduce its deficit. The imbalance, she said, is an important feature of the bilateral trade relationship. Her comments describe the countries’ positions on the balance but do not identify a new negotiating proposal or a resolution to the talks. The remarks followed a statement the previous week by US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer that an agreement was not imminent. Greer spoke after meeting Indian Trade Minister Piyush Goyal in the United States.