India

U.S. and Indian officials are continuing to discuss a range of trade issues with an eye toward some type of agreement following India's upcoming elections, though an official U.S.-India Trade Policy Forum meeting remains unscheduled, according to sources.

Trade ministers who gathered in Singapore on Monday were unable to finalize a deal and are now eyeing 2019. India's concerns are still seen as a primary obstacle.

The U.S.-India Trade Policy Forum, slated for this week, has been delayed as trade talks between the two countries have failed to generate enough momentum to justify a tentative plan for U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer to travel to New Delhi, sources told Inside U.S. Trade.

An arbitrator's decision is set for October, with a compliance panel report set to be released in December.

The tariffs – retaliation for U.S. Section 232 steel and aluminum duties – will cover products like walnuts, almonds and apples. They are set to kick in on Sept. 18.

India this week pledged to maintain its agricultural domestic support systems despite U.S. allegations that they violate World Trade Organization rules.

India has formally requested World Trade Organization dispute settlement consultations with the United States over U.S. Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum as well as quota arrangements the U.S. reached with certain countries to give them relief from the duties.

The U.S. is using the Generalized System of Preferences, which gives products from qualifying developing countries tariff-free access to the U.S., to pressure countries to raise their sanitary and phytosanitary standards, U.S. chief agriculture negotiator Gregg Doud said on Tuesday.