As India and the United States work to finalise a long-awaited trade deal during Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal’s ongoing visit to Washington, former Indian Ambassador to the WTO Jayant Dasgupta says agriculture and dairy remain the biggest hurdles.
“We will not allow the common products to come in,” he told CNBC-TV18, referring to US dairy imports. “It will be the sophisticated kinds of cheese and other items which do not have a very large market in India.”
Dasgupta noted that while India has made it clear it will not accept genetically modified (GM) crops, there could be some flexibility in other areas. “Non-GM products also, if certified, can be allowed,” he said. For items like corn and soya, however, tariffs are likely to stay, unless the US agrees to a tariff rate quota (TRQ), which permits a limited quantity to be imported at lower duties.
