India hopes to have serious discussions on trade issues with Biden administration
New Delhi, Dec 13: There was a fairly serious negotiation between India and the Trump administration on resolving the outstanding trade issues as well as to clinch a trade deal, external affairs minister S Jaishankar said on Saturday while hoping to have talks over it with the Biden dispensation.
The external affairs minister said the focus of the talks was to address the "differences" before moving towards "something bigger".
Participating in an interactive session at the annual general meeting of industry body FICCI, Jaishankar said the US economy was largely a "complementary" one and that there was "no fundamental clash of interests" between the two sides though there are some areas of overlap.
"There was a fairly serious negotiation between our government and the Trump administration on resolving the outstanding trade issues. I think the general thinking on both sides was 'let's deal with differences before we think of something bigger'," he said.
On day one of my presidency US will rejoin Paris climate agreement: Biden
The
external
affairs
minister
said
a
lot
of
discussions
had
taken
place
over
the
proposed
deal.
"For
a
variety
of
reasons,
they
didn't
close
it
out.
I
can
tell
you
on
our
side,
we
were
dead
serious.
We
wanted
to
deal
with
those
issues
because
we
thought
there
was
something
much
bigger
that
was
in
store
for
the
relationship.
But
it
didn't
happen.
And
often
when
it
comes
to
trade
discussions
(they)
are
like
business
discussions
between
two
governments,"
he
said.
In such discussions, the devil is in the details, he said, adding, "If you do not close out a deal, it is not a deal."
"We
made
a
very
focused
serious
persevering
effort,
it
didn't
get
done
this
year.
I
do
believe
that
in
a
very
very
basic
way,
the
US
is
a
complementary
economy,"
he
said.
The
external
affairs
minister
further
said:
"I
certainly
hope
that
we
have
serious
discussions
once
the
(Biden)
administration
comes
in.
I
know
our
minister
is
very
focused
on
it,
and
it
is
something
which
is
rightly
very
important
on
his
agenda."
The
Trump
administration
last
year
terminated
India's
designation
as
a
beneficiary
under
the
key
GSP
trade
programme
on
the
ground
that
it
has
not
provided
the
US
equitable
and
reasonable
access
to
its
markets.
Export
of
certain
goods
to
the
US
were
previously
allowed
in
duty-free
category
under
a
special
trade
scheme
called
the
Generalised
System
of
Preferences
(GSP).
The US has been seeking greater access to India's huge poultry and dairy markets. However, India has some reservations over it.
Asked
about
the
outcome
of
the
US
presidential
election,
Jaishankar
suggested
that
the
ties
between
the
two
countries
will
continue
to
expand.
"If
I
were
to
sum
up
my
takeaway
from
the
Biden
administration
coming
into
office,
I
would
say
vis-a-vis
the
world,
quite
apart
from
the
security
issues
and
the
political
influence
issues,
one
big
question
for
them
is
how
do
they
keep
America
competitive.
And
the
other
big
question
is
really,
how
do
they
deal
with
the
climate
change
challenge,"
he
said.
Jaishankar said the Indo-US relationship is at a "different level" now and that cooperation in security and defence will continue to be key aspects of it.
"When it comes to economic issues, especially competitiveness, I think India can make a big difference. Because we are actually doing today much more on global issues and global challenges than we have done before, even on something like climate change if you look," he added.