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Informist, Monday, Nov. 17, 2025

 

--Trade secy: US LPG pact not part of overall trade deal talks 
--Govt official: Package deal with US reciprocal tariffs almost near closure

 

NEW DELHI – India and the US continue to hold negotiations over a bilateral trade agreement, and a package to address the issue of reciprocal tariffs is almost near closure, a senior commerce ministry official said Monday. "One part is the bilateral trade agreement, which will take its own time. Second is the package which will address reciprocal tariffs. We are working on both aspects. Package which will address reciprocal tariff is more or less near closure," the official said.

 

The US in August has imposed 50% tariff on imports from India, 25% of which is a punitive measure for New Delhi's continued purchases of crude oil from Moscow. Last week, however, US President Donald Trump said the US is coming closer to making a "fair trade deal" with India.

 

The US accounts for nearly 20% of India's total exports. In 2024-25 (Apr-Mar), India exported goods worth $86.51 billion to the US and had a trade surplus of $40.82 billion. In the current financial year till October, there is a trade surplus of $22.06. Asked if the negotiations are only on 25% reciprocal tariff or on overall 50% tariff, the official said the understanding so far is that the package will take care of the entire 50% tariff.

 

Trade Secretary Rajesh Agrawal said Indian oil marketing companies signing the first structured contract to import liquefied petroleum gas from the US is not a part of overall trade negotiations. "It is not part of any negotiation package per se, but definitely as part of our endeavour to keep a balance in our trade," he said.

 

Earlier in the day, Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said on microblogging site X, "Indian public sector oil companies have successfully concluded a 1-year deal for imports of around 2.2 MTPA (million tonnes per annum) LPG, close to 10% of our annual imports - for the contract year 2026, to be sourced from the US Gulf Coast- the first structured contract of US LPG for the Indian market."

 

The trade secretary said a free trade agreement with the European Union is in the last phase. "But the last phase is always a time-consuming phase, we have entered the last phase of talks, and we hope to close it soon," Agrawal said. He added that a fourth round of free trade talks with Chile is likely in December.  End

 

US$1 = INR 88.63

 

Reported by Sagar Sen

Edited by Tanima Banerjee

 

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