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Informist, Friday, Jul. 18, 2025

 

--Govt source: India-US trade deal all about preferential access 

--Govt source: India to get preferential treatment vs others under US deal

 

NEW DELHI – Under the trade deal with the US, which is currently under negotiation, India may get a preferential tariff treatment, compared with other trading partners, a commerce ministry official said. "The US deal is all about preferential treatment."

 

For example, if the tariff is 20% for Vietnamese goods in the US, it may be lower for Indian goods, the official said. A delegation of officials from the commerce ministry, led by Special Secretary and India's chief negotiator Rajesh Agrwal, is in Washington this week to negotiate the trade deal.

 

Meanwhile, Indian industry is hopeful that a preliminary deal would be announced soon--before the US's country-wise reciprocal tariffs kick in Aug. 1. US President Donald 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 a 26% reciprocal tariff on Indian goods, 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 86.16

 

Reported by Krity Ambey

Edited by Akul Nishant Akhoury

 

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