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Informist, Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2025

 

--Trade secy: Indian delegation in US currently to hold trade pact talks 

--Trade secy: Awaiting product-wise Sept export data to gauge US tariff hit 

--Trade secy: Happy to buy more energy from US if price is right 

 

NEW DELHI – India is happy to buy more energy products from the US if the price is right, Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal said Wednesday. The comment comes while a delegation of Indian officials is in Washington, DC, for trade talks. Agrawal, who is India's chief negotiator, will also leave for the US late Wednesday.

 

There is headroom to buy more energy products from the US, Agrawal said. India had imported $14.35 billion of crude oil from the US in the financial year 2024-25 (Apr-Mar). Lowering the trade deficit and getting access to supply more energy products are among the key demands of the US to conclude a trade deal with India.

 

In fact, US President Donald Trump has a problem specifically with Russia being the top source of crude oil for India. For this reason, he has imposed a 25% punitive tariff on Indian goods exported to the US. Since August, Indian shipments to the US are subject to 50% tariffs. India's exports to the US fell nearly 20% in September because of the tariffs.

 

The government is awaiting product-wise exports data for September to properly gauge the impact of the tariffs, Agrawal said. The Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics will release the products-wise trade data for September in the next 15 days.

 

Meanwhile, New Delhi is engaged in negotiations with Washington for a trade deal. The two sides have so far held five rounds of negotiations. But the current round of discussions is not a formal round of negotiations as the US government is under shutdown, Agrawal said. The US government shut down Oct. 1 after Congress failed to pass a funding bill. This means US government workers will not get paid for now, and service centres will stay closed. Only essential services such as postal service, defence, and social work are operational.

 

The course of trade negotiations between India and the US has seen considerable ebb and flow in the past seven months, with the two sides hitting a stalemate in August over disagreements on the farm sector. The negotiations resumed in September. But with the US government shutdown, the future course of talks remains uncertain.

 

The US tariffs have cast a shadow on over $50 billion of Indian exports from labour-intensive sectors like textiles, gems and jewellery, marine products, and furniture and bedding. In FY25, India had exported $86.51 billion of goods to the US and had a trade surplus of $40.82 billion with the country.  End

 

US$1 = INR 88.07

 

Reported by Krity Ambey

Edited by Rajeev Pai

 

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