Reference News Network, September 27 report - According to the website of Hong Kong's South China Morning Post, September 27 report, several sources familiar with the negotiations revealed that senior trade negotiators from India and the United States failed to resolve their tariff disputes during meetings held this week in the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. India urged the United States to cancel tariffs related to Russia's energy imports.

American Trade Representative Jamison Grier met with Indian Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal on the 22nd in New York. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, and a close associate of President Donald Trump, incoming U.S. Ambassador to India Sergio Garcia, also participated in the meeting.

Indian officials initially refused to confirm the meeting between Grier and Goyal, but on the 26th, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry of India confirmed the meeting in a statement.

The statement said: "The Indian delegation held constructive talks with the U.S. government on all aspects of the agreement." The statement also added that both sides exchanged opinions on the "possible framework" of the agreement.

The statement also said: "Both sides decided to continue contact in order to reach a mutually beneficial trade agreement as soon as possible." However, no specific timetable was provided.

According to government sources, both sides hope to reach an agreement by the end of September to pave the way for Trump's autumn visit to India for the planned Quad leaders' summit. However, if the trade dispute continues, the visit may be postponed until next year.

This visit by the Indian trade delegation to the United States is the first time that India has sent a high-level trade delegation to the U.S. since Trump imposed punitive tariffs on India in August.

In this week's talks, the issue of India purchasing Russian oil remained the biggest point of contention. India requested the removal of relevant tariffs, while the U.S. side stated that without India reducing its oil purchases from Russia, reaching an agreement would be impossible.

Diplomatic sources said that further rounds of talks are needed to resolve outstanding issues, including the deadlock over Russian oil. (Translated by Lin Zhao Hui)

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