India meets criteria to reclaim US trade concessions

India meets the criteria for trade concessions that the United States eliminated in June, India's Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale said on Thursday.

The United States removed India from the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) programme that allowed duty-free entry for up to $5.6 billion worth of its annual exports to the United States, citing lack of reciprocal market access.

Washington should take a call on reinstating trade concessions under the GSP, Gokhale told a news conference.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to meet US President Donald Trump later this month in the United States.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will meet executives from energy majors BP PLC and Exxon Mobil Corp in the United States next week to discuss investment opportunities, the foreign ministry said on Thursday.

The energy hungry nation, which has been increasing imports of crude from the United States, is looking at raising oil imports from Russia, amid uncertainty over supplies after an attack on Saudi Arabian facilities last weekend.

Modi will also attend a separate investment event with executives from JPMorgan Chase & Co, Lockheed Martin, Mastercard Inc and Walmart Inc, Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale said.