Agencies New Delhi

India and the US will commence ministerial-level meetings in Washington from May 17 to assess the progress of negotiations for the proposed bilateral trade agreement, provide political guidance to chief negotiators and push forward efforts to deepen economic ties, an official said.

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal will hold deliberations on the agreement first with US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and later with US Trade Representative (USTR) Jamieson Greer during his four-day visit, the official said.

"The minister will be holding political-level discussions to give negotiations a political steer. They will assess the progress made in the negotiations in the past two months," the official said. The minister-level meeting will be followed by the deliberations between chief negotiators of the two countries from May 19 to May 22.

The meetings come against the backdrop of both countries exploring the possibility of an interim trade arrangement in goods to secure "early mutual wins" ahead of finalising the first phase of the trade agreement by fall this year. The main issues that will figure in the negotiations include market access, rules of origin, and non-tariff barriers.

Ministry may extend QCO deadline

The Ministry of Commerce and Industry will consider extending the implementation timeline of the quality control order (QCO) for various electrical appliances. Acknowledging concerns raised by the industry, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said that the ministry will consider extending the implementation timeline of the QCO, as well as the issue of legacy stock.

The minister gave assurance to the industry, while emphasizing on the importance of implementation of QCO for electrical appliances at the Stakeholder Meet convened by DPIIT on Thursday. 

Goyal requested industry to come up with the proposal for setting up more testing facilities with modern technology in public funded labs, labs in public sector enterprises and labs in state government institutions etc. so that that robust and accessible testing infrastructure will be made available for the industry pan India.