The long-running India-US poultry dispute, which was at the WTO for resolution, has been settled following discussions between the countries. As part of the deal, India also agreed to reduce tariffs on certain US products, including frozen turkey, frozen duck, fresh blueberries and cranberries, frozen blueberries and cranberries, dried blueberries and cranberries, and processed blueberries and cranberries. In return, the US will now drop outstanding claims at the WTO in relation to India. This completes a resolution of the last outstanding dispute between the US and India, following the settlement of six disputes in June this year when Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a state visit to the US – with president Biden making a return visit to India last week. The United States Trade Representative (USTR) said that the resolution of the “last long-standing dispute opens a new chapter of bilateral cooperation that will deepen the trade relationship between the United States and India.”

UK India trade talks

Meanwhile, the UK had been looking to deepen its own trade relationship with India through negotiation of a trade deal, but agreement seems some way off. UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak cooled any expectation by saying that “we are not there yet”, ahead of last weeks G20 summit in India. The main sticking point for this deal is India’s request for UK visas, which are a much more difficult political concession than the access demanded by Australia and New Zealand to the UK market for meat and dairy products in their trade negotiation. A future trade deal with India was also flagged as an EU ambition in the Commission president’s State of the Union address on Wednesday.