Washington, 5 July (IANS). US President Donald Trump has signed letters related to tariffs on exports from 12 countries, which are expected to be sent on Monday.
Talking to the media, the US President said that the names of countries whom letters will be sent will be told on Monday. He said, “I have signed some letters. He will be sent on Monday, probably 12 letters. Different amounts, separate tariffs. It is better to send a letter. Sending a letter is easy to send.”
Trump has also indicated that the ‘reciperook tariff’ can be increased by 70 percent on some countries. It is expected to be implemented from 1 August.
In April, the US President declared a 10 percent base tariff on most of the goods coming to the country. Along with this, even higher rates were fixed for some countries, such as China. However, these increased tariffs were later postponed till 9 July.
Washington has committed ‘trade agreement’ with two countries (United Kingdom and Vietnam).
Meanwhile, India’s high-level official delegation has returned from Washington without any final agreement. It was being led by the chief negotiator Rajesh Aggarwal. The agreement was to be held by the US about the trade of sensitive issues being pressured by the US.
However, there is still a ray of hope. It is expected that before the July 9 deadline, the two countries may have an interim bilateral trade agreement at the highest political level.
The Indian team was in Washington to negotiate an interim trade agreement with the US from 26 June to 2 July.
According to Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, India will not hurry to sign a ‘free trade agreement’ under pressure from a deadline.
During an event held in New Delhi, Minister Piyush Goyal emphasized that India is ready to do a trade deal in the national interest, but “never talks on trade deals with deadline.”
The US is demanding a wide market for its agriculture and dairy products, which is a major challenge. For India, it is a matter of livelihood of small farmers of the country, so it is considered a sensitive area.
India is trying to get an interim agreement before July 9, trying to get exemption from President Trump’s 26 percent tariff. He is also emphasizing on important tariff convention for his labor-intensive exports such as textile, leather and shoes.
-IANS
RSG/KR
