New York, Sep 21 (TIWN) Speculation is high that US could consider reinstating India's designation as a beneficiary developing nation under the key GSP trade programme as part of a potential trade deal between the two countries and both the countries will announce a trade package during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit.

The Trump administration terminated India's designation as a beneficiary developing nation under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) on June 5. Recently Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale said it was up to America to take a call on reinstating India's status as a beneficiary of that programme while asserting India meets the criteria for trade concessions under the GSP.   The US had removed India from the GSP programme, which allowed duty-free entry for up to $5.6 billion worth of annual exports to the US, on "lack of reciprocal market access" of US exports in Indian market". 

The GSP is the largest and oldest US trade preference programme and is designed to promote economic development by allowing duty-free entry for thousands of products from designated beneficiary countries.  Recently, a bipartisan group of 44 US lawmakers urged the Trump administration to reinstate India's designation as a beneficiary developing nation under the key GSP trade programme as part of a potential trade deal between the two countries. Prime Minister Modi is on a visit to the US from September 21-27.