India to import more from US, will reduce bilateral trade differences

PM Modi on Monday informed President Donald Trump that India plans to furr step up imports, including oil, from US and that USD 4 billion worth of imports were alrey "in pipeline", as two countries sought to overcome ir differences on tariffs and market access. PM Modi Donald Trump meeting assumes significance in wake of strain that has popped up in bilateral relationship on a host of tre and ecomic issues.

Meeting on sidelines of G7 Summit in French city of Biarritz, where India was a special invitee, PM Modi and Trump agreed that preferably before Prime Minister visits US next month, re will be an interaction between ir tre ministers at which " whole range of tre issues will be discussed," Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale said. Briefing on 40-minute meeting between PM Modi and US President Donald Trump, he told reporters that Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal was supposed to go to Washington earlier but it did t materialise.

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In Washington, a reout of PM Modi Donald Trump meeting said, two leers discussed ways to broen ir strategic partnership and greatly increase tre between United States and India.Though tre is an important part of booming bilateral strategic partnership, a row over market access and tariffs has escalated in recent months, leing to fears of a protracted dispute. Trump has previously described India as "tariff king." Before his meeting with PM Modi on sidelines of G20 Summit in Osaka, Japan, demanded withdrawal of India's "very high" tariffs on US goods. 

" Prime Minister spoke of importance of energy imports from US, and he referred to fact that 4 billion dollars worth of imports are alrey in pipeline and that would be expected to be stepped up," Gokhale said.

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He ted that PM Modi would be in US in September to attend UN General Assembly and would also travel to Houston, America's energy capital. prime minister is scheduled to dress Indian community in Houston on September 22. In Houston, prime minister is expected to have a round table with top CEOs of energy companies in US, he said. He said objective re is two fold, one to see how India can import more energy (oil) from US and second is how country can invest in energy sector in US.

Gokhale said President Trump spoke very warmly of fact that India has become a major importer of energy. He also indicated that he was willing to send top ministration officials to Houston in an effort to ensure that bilateral energy relationship me progress.India's exports to US in 2017-18 stood at USD 47.9 billion, while imports were at USD 26.7 billion. tre balance is in favour of India. Foreign Secretary described bilateral meeting between PM Modi and Donald Trump as a very positive one. 

"This is third eir meeting or conversation that two leers have h in about 100 days of office that PM Modi has been in his second term," he ted. 

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In June, President Trump terminated India's designation as a beneficiary developing nation under key GSP tre programme after determining that New Delhi has t assured US that it will provide "equitable and reasonable access" to its markets. Generalized System of Preference (GSP) is largest and oldest US tre preference programme and is designed to promote ecomic development by allowing duty-free entry for thousands of products from designated beneficiary countries. Trump ministration wants India to lower tre barriers and embrace "fair and reciprocal" tre. Trump has also criticised India's high import tariff on iconic Harley- Davidson motorcycles as "unacceptable".

Many US companies like Google, Mastercard, Visa and Amazon have raised concerns over issue of data localisation and its impact on ir operational cost. In April last year, Reserve Bank of India issued a directive on 'Stor of Payment System Data'. It h vised all system providers to ensure that within a period of six months, entire data relating to payment systems operated by m is stored in a system only in India, for effective monitoring. India has also dragged US to World Tre Organisation's dispute settlement mechanism over imposition of import duties on steel and aluminium.

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