India is expected to raise five key issues – marine exports, business visas, social security, access of Indian pharmaceutical products, and exports of table grapes and mangoes — during US Trade Representative (USTR) Katherine Tai’s India visit on Friday, two officials aware of the matter said.

Tai is visiting New Delhi from January 12-14, and is scheduled to meet external affairs minister S Jaishankar and commerce minister Piyush Goyal to discuss issues related to trade and investments. The 14th India-US Trade Promotion Forum (TPF), a bilateral mechanism to resolve trade issues, will meet on Friday. It will be co-chaired by Tai and commerce minister Piyush Goyal.

The US may press India to reduce tariff and non-tariff barriers to allow American agricultural products and raise the issue of trade deficit, HT reported on Wednesday. Officials, who asked not to be named, said trade between India and the US must be equitable but cannot be on an equal basis as one is a highly developed economy and the other is a developing country.

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“The US has trade deficit with almost all countries. And the gap is very high with countries like China, but that arrangement suits the dollar trade,” one official said. The US is India’s top export destination with $44.47 billion exports in the first seven months of FY24 (April-October 2023). Imports from the US in the same period have been worth $24.88 billion.

India wants the US to allow faster inspection of its pharmaceutical products and grant FDA approvals, which will immensely help people of the country in getting medicines at an economical cost, the second official said. The other access issue is related to Indian marine products. The US was concerned about impact of fishing on white turtles, and India has already developed a fishing net that protects turtles. New Delhi now wants the US government to inspect and approve the net so that marine products such as wild fish and shrimps can be exported to America, the official added.

India is also seeking the grant of easier business visas, and is proposing to sign a social security agreement, the second official said. That resolution of issues over dual deduction of social security are also on the table — this relates to social security deposits in America by Indian professionals working for temporary periods who also make similar deposits in India. To resolve this, the US wanted details on Indian social security schemes — such as Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF), New Pension Scheme (NPS), and Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) — which has been provided.

India’s other major issues include restoring the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) that the Trump administration had withdrawn in 2019, and seeking Trade Agreements Act (TAA)-designated country status. India’s status as one of the TAA-designated countries would help Indian businesses sell their products to the US government, but such deals are often based on overall negotiations and reciprocity.