United States negotiators cancelled a scheduled visit to New Delhi from August 25 to 29, delaying progress on a proposed bilateral trade agreement, NDTV reported on Saturday.
The visit for a round of negotiations for the proposed bilateral trade agreement will most likely be rescheduled, the Indian media report stated, citing sources, adding that both sides remain in touch, but a fresh schedule for talks has yet to be finalised.
This development came after US President Donald Trump hit 25% tariffs on India in July and threatened to “substantially” hike them on Indian imports over the country’s purchases of Russian oil.
The upcoming round of talks was much anticipated, given that it was scheduled around Aug 27, which is when the imposition of the additional 25% secondary sanctions on India is to take place, the report added.
The fall deadline of September–October for finalising the first tranche of the bilateral trade agreement between India and the United States appears uncertain.
On Thursday, senior government officials said India remained “fully engaged” with Washington on the proposed trade deal, with talks continuing across multiple levels, from formal negotiating teams to ministerial, diplomatic channels, and industry-level interactions.
Describing the US as a “very important trade partner”, the officials said clarity on the next round of talks — scheduled for August 25 in New Delhi — would emerge closer to the date, while reaffirming the agreed fall timeline.
India said two days ago that it hoped relations with the United States would move forward based on mutual respect and shared interests, seeking to temper worries that ties were headed downhill in the aftermath of high tariffs imposed by Washington.
New Delhi has accused the US of double standards in singling it out for Russian oil imports and called the tariffs unfair, unjustified and unreasonable.
