Washington, May 31: The Donald Trump regime will not spare time to discuss with re-elected Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on whether New Delhi should be removed from the Generalized System of Preference (GSP), a trade pact which prefers import on below par duties from developing countries.

The US administration has said it is not going back on its decision to terminate India's designation as a beneficiary developing nation under the key GSP trade programme, terming the suspension a "done deal". China Broke the Deal in Trade Talks, Says US President Donald Trump

On March 4, President Donald Trump announced that the US intended to terminate India's designation as a beneficiary developing country under the GSP programme. The 60-day notice period ended on May 3. A formal notification is now expected anytime.

India was not in a position to raise the matter with the US or adopt a counter-policy as the Model Code of Conduct -- which allows the government to only play a caretaker role -- was implemented. The poll code came into effect as general elections had been announced in the nation.

"The persistent market access issues, which we were engaged with our Indian counterparts over the last year, led us to announce in March that we would be suspending or withdrawing India's benefits under the generalised system of Preferences Program," said the official who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

"That suspension is a done deal. Now the task is how do we look ahead; how do we work under the second Modi Administration, to identify a path forward?" the official said, reflecting the Trump administration's decision that the GSP termination is final.

Under the GSP programme, nearly 2,000 products including auto components and textile materials can enter the US duty-free if the beneficiary developing countries meet the eligibility criteria established by Congress.

India was the largest beneficiary of the program in 2017 with USD 5.7 billion in imports to the US given duty-free status and Turkey the fifth largest with USD 1.7 billion in covered imports, according to a Congressional Research Service report issued in January.

While India was eliminated on grounds of importing high-tariffs on high-end US goods viz motorcycles, Turkey was terminated from the pact after the Trump regime found that it could no longer be considered as a developing economy.

(With PTI inputs)

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 31, 2019 09:47 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).