Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal said the India–United States framework or interim trade agreement is ready for signing. The agreement matters because it is intended to create preferential market access for both sides, while the comparative-advantage structure for India is still being worked out.
Rajesh Agrawal indicated that signing need not wait for the completion of United States investigations into trade partners. The United States is running two investigations: one related to forced labour and another assessing excess-capacity export practices that may harm the American economy.
The forced-labour case is described as near completion, with a final hearing already held and a final report expected later in the month. The excess-capacity case is still at the draft-report stage and is expected to take a minimum of four to six weeks after receipt.
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