More Stories

Informist, Monday, Jul. 14, 2025

--Govt source: Indian delegation in US for one week for trade talks 

--Govt source on US trade deal: Looking for mutually beneficial solutions 

--Govt source:India delegation to focus on 1st phase of US trade deal this wk

NEW DELHI – A team from the commerce ministry is currently in the US for negotiations on a proposed trade agreement, a government official said. The delegation is likely to be in Washington, DC, for a week, the official added.

The team will focus on finalising one phase of the trade deal with the US this week, the official said. New Delhi and Washington are also looking for mutually beneficial solutions to some contentious issues, the official said, without mentioning the specific issues.

Discussions on the farm and dairy sectors are some points of contention in the negotiations with Washington. US President Donald Trump has, on multiple occasions, expressed an interest in getting market access to India's agriculture sector, but India has always had a firm stance on keeping its farm sector closed.

Indian industry is hopeful that a preliminary deal would be announced soon--before the US's country-wise reciprocal tariffs kick in from Aug. 1. Trump, who has been sending individual letters to nations from last week, informing them about the reciprocal tariffs due to hit them, has not yet announced any duty for India.

While on Apr. 2, Trump had announced 26% reciprocal tariff on India, it is not clear whether the president will stick to the same level if he does issue a tariff letter to New Delhi. The tariffs mentioned in the latest letters sent to some countries so far are different from what was unveiled for them in April.

If imposed, reciprocal tariffs may significantly hurt India's export growth, as the US is India's top export destination with a share of over 15% in total outbound shipments. India exported goods worth $86.51 billion to the US in the financial year 2024-25 (Apr-Mar) and had a trade surplus of $40.82 billion during the period, according to commerce ministry data.  End

US$1 = INR 85.98

Reported by Krity Ambey 

Edited by Rajeev Pai

For users of real-time market data terminals, Informist news is available exclusively on the NSE Cogencis WorkStation.

Cogencis news is now Informist news. This follows the acquisition of Cogencis Information Services Ltd by NSE Data & Analytics Ltd, a 100% subsidiary of the National Stock Exchange of India Ltd. As a part of the transaction, the news department of Cogencis has been sold to Informist Media Pvt Ltd.

Informist Media Tel +91 (11) 4220-1000

Send comments to feedback@informistmedia.com

© Informist Media Pvt. Ltd. 2025. All rights reserved.