India and the United States reached an agreement on Thursday over food stockpiles, removing a major obstacle to a global trade deal that has been stalled for months.
The pact, which precedes a meeting this weekend of the Group of 20 major economies, allows India to continue its extensive food subsidy program. In settling the dispute, India returns to the negotiating table on a broader trade package.
That package, first agreed upon at a World Trade Organisation meeting in December in Bali, Indonesia, is the first significant global trade deal since the creation of the W.T.O. nearly two decades ago.