India looking to expeditiously conclude trade deal with US, says foreign min
This story was originally published at 20:18 IST on 9 April 2025
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--Foreign min: Talking to exporters to understand implications of US tariffs
--Foreign min: Looking to "expeditiously conclude" trade pact with US
NEW DELHI - Hours after the 26% discounted reciprocal tariffs by the US on India came into effect, the Ministry of External Affairs said Wednesday that New Delhi is looking to expeditiously conclude the bilateral trade agreement with Washington. The ministry, however, didn't confirm whether India has requested the US to minimise the impact of tariffs for the time being.
External affairs ministry Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that the negotiations are going on with the US on the trade pact. "We are having discussion on bilateral trade agreement. We are looking to expeditiously concluding this bilateral trade agreement... that will address all the issues regarding India-US trade relations right now," he said.
Jaiswal also said that the government is in touch with exporters and other stakeholders in order to understand the kind of implications the tariffs will have on them.
During Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the US in February, the two countries had agreed to negotiate a multi-sectoral Bilateral Trade Agreement. The proposed agreement with the US has made significant progress since then. Last month, officials from both sides visited each other's nations to discuss the agreement. According to sources from the foreign ministry, India is hoping to conclude the negotiations for the trade pact in the next couple of months.
On Monday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Foreign Minister Jaishankar held discussions on the 26% reciprocal tariffs imposed by the Donald Trump-led administration on India.
On Thursday, Trump had announced the imposition of 26% duty on goods imported from India, which came into effect on Wednesday. Trump also imposed tariffs on various other countries, including a 104% duty on Chinese imports. While China responded with retaliatory tariffs on US goods, India refrained from announcing any counter tariffs on US imports.
India has attempted to woo Trump by reducing import duties on Harley-Davidson motorcycles as well as bourbon whiskey. Additionally, it has eliminated a tax on digital services, commonly referred to as the 'Google Tax', which impacted US technology companies.
The US is India's top export market with a share of 17% in total outbound shipments. In 2023-24 (Apr-Mar), India exported goods worth $77.52 billion to the US and had a trade surplus of $35.32 billion. End
US$1 = INR 86.69
Reported by Kuldeep Singh
Edited by Tanima Banerjee
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