NEW DELHI, Aug 6 (Reuters) – India will not offer any concessions or commitments regarding the import of ethanol from the U.S. in the India-U.S. trade discussions, the Indian Commerce Ministry said in a statement on Thursday.
India mandates mixing 20% ethanol with gasoline. Government regulations allow the use of locally produced ethanol for mixing with gasoline.
“Accordingly, any suggestion of a policy change to permit large-scale imports of fuel ethanol from the U.S. is misleading,” the statement said.
Washington and New Delhi have been negotiating a bilateral trade agreement to expand market access and lower trade barriers as part of efforts to deepen economic ties.
A U.S.-India trade agreement could be signed within three to four months, a senior U.S. official said last month.
(Reporting by Nidhi Verma and Manoj KumarEditing by Rod Nickel)
