New Delhi: India’s Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Monday that trade negotiations with the US had reached a “plateau”, with both sides finding it increasingly difficult to make further concessions.

A plateau means progress has levelled off, although discussions are continuing.

Speaking at the Munich Security Conference’s event in New Delhi, Sitharaman said the negotiations remained active but had reached a stage where further compromises could prove difficult.

“The agreement’s negotiations are still ongoing, although we’d like to believe that both the sides have reached a plateau, beyond which giving or taking might be very, very difficult,” she said.

However, she added that there was still room for both countries to work towards an agreement.

India and the US announced an initial understanding in February under which Washington would reduce tariffs to 18 per cent, while India would lower duties on a range of industrial and agricultural products.

Tariffs are taxes imposed on imported goods. Reducing them can make products cheaper to bring into a country and improve access for foreign suppliers.

Several rounds of negotiations have followed, but unresolved issues have prevented the initial understanding from becoming a completed deal.

The talks have also been complicated by a US investigation into alleged unfair trade practices involving several countries, including India. Such an investigation examines whether trading policies or practices disadvantage American businesses.

US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said last week that he did not expect an announcement imminently, although the two sides had identified the outstanding points of disagreement.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Donald Trump also discussed cooperation in trade, defence, energy and critical technologies during a telephone conversation last week, according to Modi’s office.

Sitharaman’s remarks suggest that negotiations are continuing, with the remaining differences now harder to resolve.