Former USTR Officials Hopeful About Revival of US-India Mini Trade Deal
Former U.S. trade officials are optimistic the Biden administration can revitalize a mini trade deal with India that was originally proposed under the Trump administration (see 2009010049). But they also said U.S. officials will likely look to add more provisions to any deal, including ones that address labor and climate issues.
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“I think there could be real interest in trying to at least work on some elements of the trade package that we were working on,” Jeffrey Gerrish, a deputy U.S. trade representative during the Trump administration, said during a July 7 event hosted by the Atlantic Council. Gerrish, now a Skadden trade lawyer, said the deal would address trade barriers that “have been going on for years” and would be “commercially meaningful” for several industries, including the agricultural and chemical sectors. “I think there could be real interest in the Biden administration,” Gerrish said. “We did come so close that I think it would be a shame not to try to finish that out.”
Robert Holleyman, who served as a deputy USTR during the Obama administration, said the Biden administration will likely capitalize on the “opportunity to look at some of the work that’s been done” and either try to revive “components or the entirety” of the mini trade deal. But he also said he’s confident President Joe Biden will look to make climate a central part of any negotiations.
“We have so many issues that I think it’s difficult at times to prioritize among those issues,” said Holleyman, a Crowell and Moring trade lawyer. “I’m sure the Biden administration not only has the same concerns commercially that were articulated well by the Trump administration and by the great career team at USTR, but they'll have new ones that'll be on the table that they will feel are critical.”
But Holleyman also said completing a deal will be challenging, especially because India won’t hesitate to raise trade barriers. “They're quite comfortable with not only the high tariffs, but potentially higher tariffs with multiple barriers that make it difficult for U.S. companies to export to that market,” Holleyman said. Gerrish said the U.S. needs to first “focus on getting something relatively small done” and incrementally address larger issues. Don’t “try to bite off more than either country can chew right away,” he said.