US RULES OUT FTA WITH INDIA FOR NOW

Not willing to tread the path taken by the European Union and Asean for market-opening trade pacts with India, US said it was not ready for a free trade deal with the world’s second-fastest growing economy, as it could not fully open agricultural imports from American farmers. On the sidelines of the India-US Summit for Small and Medium Enterprises, US trade representative Susan Schwab
said “Quite honestly, it would be quite difficult, at this point of time for India to imagine doing that kind of a deal with the US considering its sensitivities in agriculture.US wants almost 100% coverage meaning if India desires to have an FTA, it has to allow a zero duty market for everything, including highly-sensitive agriculture products.”