US, India hold talks to calm trade tensions

US and Indian government officials pressed on with talks yesterday to resolve their differences over trade and investment, Indian government sources said, even though US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross called off his visit because of bad weather at home. Ross addressed a US-India CEO Forum by video after his flight was cancelled and was due to similarly join the commercial dialogue later in the day with Indian Commerce Minister Suresh Prabhu, the sources said. US ambassador to India Kenneth Juster is leading the delegation on the ground.

India and the United States are sparring over a range of issues, from India’s new rules on e-ecommerce that affect firms such as Amazon and Walmart to data localisation and its tariffs that US President Donald Trump says are exceptionally high. Washington has also had a longstanding grievance with India over its large trade deficit with the United States and what it sees as the Indian government’s lax intellectual property enforcement.

New Delhi defends the measures on e-commerce as a way to protect the interests of small businesses and says it has been cutting tariffs gradually to give local industry a level playing field and create jobs for a very large youth population. Details of the discussions held yesterday were not immediately available and officials said the two sides were likely to issue a joint statement later yesterday.

The sources also said that trade negotiations would be conducted by the United States Trade Representative (USTR) and not by the Commerce Department, which is focussed on boosting investment, improving the business climate and some specific areas such as travel and tourism.