India

A preliminary trade deal between Washington and New Delhi is coming “very soon,” President Trump said on Tuesday, adding that the two countries aimed to strike a more comprehensive deal “down the road a little bit.”

The U.S. has requested a World Trade Organization dispute settlement ruling on tariffs imposed by India following the Trump administration’s removal of the country from a program granting preferential treatment for some developing countries.

“We are looking at an early resolution of many issues. Whether a deal will be announced or not that is up to the prime minister and the president to decide.”

U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Indian Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal spoke on Friday about a potential face-to-face meeting ahead of United Nations General Assembly meetings in late September, when the Trump administration hopes to announce a partial bilateral trade deal.

In a series of bilateral meetings on the margins of the G7 leaders’ summit in Biarritz, France, President Trump addressed pressing trade issues with his counterparts, including looming auto tariffs, trade tensions with China and World Trade Organization reform.

While the panel report largely sided with India, the country is appealing the panel’s assessment of measures in Washington state and Minnesota.

A group of House lawmakers is eyeing a potential high-level meeting between the U.S. and India as an opportunity to push for an “early harvest” deal that reinstates certain benefits previously afforded to New Delhi under the Generalized System of Preferences in exchange for market access.

Four countries, three of which are openly opposed to renewing the World Trade Organization moratorium on duties on electronic transmissions, would lose more in gross domestic product than they would gain in tariffs if the moratorium were lifted, according to a new study.

U.S. and Indian officials hope to hold a high-level, high-stakes meeting in Washington, DC, before the end of the month, which could determine the direction of the trade relationship between the two countries, according to industry sources.