With the US reciprocal tariffs pause set to expire on July 9, Indian commerce negotiators are learnt to have prolonged their go to to Washington in a bid to resolve variations, significantly over delicate points comparable to agriculture, and to finalise negotiations for an interim commerce deal.
The ongoing spherical of talks assumes significance because the US has introduced the conclusion of talks with China that had begun a lot later than these with India however have resulted in a big easing of tensions between the 2 international locations. Indian companies had begun benefitting from the steeper duties imposed on Chinese language merchandise in comparison with these on Indian items.
Whereas India is searching for the elimination of reciprocal tariffs and extra duties comparable to these on metal, aluminium, and auto parts — together with assurances that no future tariffs will likely be imposed — the US is searching for a broad-based opening of Indian sectors, from cars and whisky to agricultural gadgets comparable to apples, corn and soya amongst others.
Sources conscious of the talks stated commerce officers mentioned guidelines of origin within the textile commerce over the past spherical in India, the place India is searching for decrease tariffs within the US much like these supplied to different FTA companions. Labour-intensive sectors comparable to textiles and footwear are amongst India’s high calls for.
Tense discussions on agricultural gadgets come amid sturdy US calls for to open the Indian market to genetically modified (GM) merchandise and to take away rules that require dairy merchandise meant for meals to be derived from animals not fed with inner blood meal.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, in an interview to The Monetary Specific which was additionally printed in The Indian Specific Monday, stated that agriculture and dairy have been among the many “very massive purple strains,” the place a excessive diploma of warning had been exercised within the talks with the US.
“Sure, we’d like to have an settlement, an enormous, good, lovely one; why not?” Sitharaman stated.
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Final week, President Donald Trump stated the US and India “could” signal a “very massive” commerce deal, below which India would “open up”.
In the meantime, Ashwani Mahajan, Nationwide Co-Convener of the Swadeshi Jagaran Manch (SJM), in a social media put up Monday, stated India’s “agriculture and small industries” can’t be sacrificed for US pursuits.
“It doesn’t matter what US President Donald Trump says, there can’t be a commerce cope with the US, as a result of India can not give what America is asking for. How can India settle for that America’s GM and different agricultural merchandise be allowed to enter the nation? That India ought to permit non-veg milk and dairy? How can the nation’s agriculture and small industries be sacrificed on the altar of America’s stubbornness?” Mahajan stated.
Indian officers have indicated that diversifying oil and defence procurement is within the nation’s strategic curiosity, and that sourcing extra from the US may considerably assist bridge the products commerce hole.
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The Indian Specific had reported earlier that India’s oil imports from the US jumped over 270 per cent year-on-year within the first 4 months of 2025, underscoring Delhi’s technique of boosting American imports amid commerce pact negotiations and diversifying crude oil sources in a unstable geopolitical and geo-economic setting.
