Conclude India-US BTA quickly, ensure Indian interests are adequately protected, says House panel

The India-United States Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) should conclude at the earliest while ensuring that the country's interests are adequately protected, the Department Related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Commerce has recommended.

The Committee wanted the Department to prepare a time-bound roadmap to achieve the objectives of the Mission 500 initiative, the joint initiative announced by India and the US, by promoting trade in goods and services, encouraging investment, strengthening cooperation in critical technologies under Transforming the Relationship Utilizing Strategic Technology (TRUST) framework, improving supply chain resilience, improving supply chain and addressing both tariff and non-tariff market access issues barriers faced by Indian exporters.

The panel’s report ‘Evaluation of India-US Trade Relations’ was made available to both houses of the Parliament on August 6.

The Committee observes that to ensure comprehensive implementation, the roadmap must explicitly focus on the strategic utilisation of domestic Production Linked Incentive (PLI) schemes to enhance export infrastructure and scale cost-competitiveness against global supply shocks. Concurrently, priority must be given to fast-tracking Mutual Recognition Agreements (MRAs) for professional services, pharmaceuticals and agricultural standards to prevent arbitrary technical barriers to trade (TBT) at US ports, it said.

The Committee further suggests establishing an institutional mechanism to routinely review currency volatilities and logistics challenges is imperative to cushion MSME-led export sectors from sudden regulatory shifts. The Committee believes that this will help build a stronger, more balanced and mutually beneficial economic partnership between India and United States

The Committee is also of the view that the Government may continue its efforts to expand bilateral trade with the United States by addressing market access issues, reducing non-tariff barriers and supporting Indian exporters, particularly MSMEs. It recommends that to shield vulnerable small-scale industries from volatile tariff actions, the Department must actively deploy localised financial buffers and export credit assistance programs

Expressing concern over the fast and unpredictable changes in foreign taxes on Indian goods, it wanted that the proposed BTA to see complete exemption for India’s key export products such as generic medicines, critical minerals and smartphones from any future unexpected U.S. tariff increases. It also wanted India’s Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) to set up a special, fast-acting watch desk to track U.S. customs audits in real time, so that Indian exporters get instant warnings about any new import rules.