The United States has put forward 'extraordinary demands', and there are still differences in multiple areas between the two sides. The trade negotiations between India and the United States have entered a' critical stage '

According to The Times of India, a delegation composed of officials from the Office of the United States Trade Representative arrived in the Indian capital New Delhi on June 1st local time to initiate a new round of trade negotiations with India. According to Indian media, this round of negotiations will focus on key areas such as minerals, rare earths, artificial intelligence, market access, tariffs, agricultural trade, energy, and technology, aiming to finalize a temporary trade agreement and lay the foundation for a broader bilateral trade agreement in the future.

In February of this year, the United States and India reached a temporary trade agreement framework, but in the following months, the trade relationship between the two sides once again experienced uncertainty. New Delhi Television believes that the visit of the US trade delegation will inject new momentum into the India US strategic and economic partnership.

The Indian Express also mentioned that the US tariffs have led to the depreciation of the Indian rupee, and the energy supply shock caused by the current Gulf War has exacerbated this problem. India hopes to reach a trade agreement with the US to restore investor confidence.

On the US side, Trade Representative Greer stated last week that he hopes to meet with Indian Minister of Commerce and Industry Goyal as soon as possible to finalize the framework of the US India agreement. US Ambassador to India Al Gore recently stated that the United States hopes to sign a bilateral trade agreement with India as soon as possible. He stated that only 1% of the issues remain to be resolved through negotiations, and bilateral negotiations are currently underway around this.

Goyal also stated on Monday that most of the agreement has been finalized and "some final details" are currently being discussed.

Indian officials believe that the current situation of the India US trade agreement negotiations is urgent - after the US Supreme Court ruled in February that the Trump administration's large-scale tariffs were illegal, the US turned to citing specific legal provisions, such as Section 301, to initiate an investigation. In April, the United States launched two 301 investigations into India regarding "structural surplus" and "forced labor". Indian officials responded by stating that "surplus" is a natural result of global trade and a byproduct of the overall economic situation. They also stated that India has ratified the 1930 Forced Labor Convention and the 1957 Abolition of Forced Labor Convention, both of which prohibit any form of forced labor.

An Indian source revealed to the MoneyControl website that the two trade teams are expected to discuss the impact of tariff rates and the 301 investigation, with India striving to obtain more favorable tariff rates than its direct competitors. The source also stated that India may request the United States to exempt it from accepting a Section 301 investigation.

According to Indian media analysis, the deadline for the end of these investigations is July 24th, when the US government may announce new tariff rates. If India and the United States can reach an agreement before this, the United States may abandon the 301 tariffs on the Inca in order to appease India.

An Indian official said that for India, the advantage of signing a trade agreement now is that even if the United States later discovers that India has violated Section 301, it may not impose tariffs on India, and the tariff rate on India will remain at 18% before negotiations.

The Indian "Politician" commented that this round of trade negotiations has reached a critical stage as both India and the United States hope to reach a temporary agreement before reaching a broader and more comprehensive bilateral trade agreement. The focus of US tariff policy is shifting, which may affect the final framework and implementation schedule of the agreement.

Currently, India and the United States are in the stage of repairing bilateral relations. The First Post of India reported that in addition to imposing a 50% tariff on India last year, the United States also favors Pakistan and accuses India of purchasing Russian oil. The report stated that India and the United States were close to signing a trade agreement in July last year, but the sudden increase in demands from the US directly disrupted the negotiation process.

After the United States lowered its' equivalent tariffs' from 50% to 18% in February this year, tensions between the US and India eased slightly. However, for India, trade negotiations between the US and India remain very challenging. According to the Indian Express, informed Indian officials revealed that the US made 'extraordinary demands' during the negotiations.

The First Post also stated that although Goyal claimed that India and the United States are expected to reach an agreement as soon as possible, differences between the two sides still exist in multiple areas. India has declared that it will defend the interests of sensitive domestic sectors such as agriculture and dairy products in any agreement, and it is currently unclear what concessions the United States will demand from India.

Before the start of the India US trade negotiations, India actively released signals of trade cooperation to the outside world. Goyal led a delegation of 100 industry leaders to visit Canada last week, striving to reach a trade agreement with Canada before the end of the year. In addition, the free trade agreement between India and Oman will also come into effect on June 1st.