Premature to Talk About Details of Proposed Indo-US Trade Deal: Govt Sources

New Delhi: Negotiations regarding the trade deal between India and US have kicked off and it would be premature to say anything about it's details, government sources said to new agency PTI. 

This statement came shortly after US President Donald Trump announced that India had agreed to significantly reduce levies on American products.

India Views Trump's Tariff Announcement as Premature

The sources reported to PTI that it would be natural from US and India to have their "interests and sensitivities" and these are legitimate matters for a discussion.

Trump's announcement on Friday that India agreed to bring tariffs "way down" was largely viewed by New Delhi as premature.

Also Read: ‘Discussions Likely’: MEA Responds to Trump Tariff Threat

In February, 2025, India and US, following talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Trump in Washington DC, announced that they would negotiate the first tranche of a mutually beneficial, multi-sector Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) by the fall of 2025 and subsequently begun negotiations on the trade deal.

"India charges us massive tariffs, you can't even sell anything in India, it's almost restrictive...By the way, they have agreed to cut their tariffs way down now because somebody is finally exposing them for what they have done," the US president told reporters in the White House.

MEA Refrains From Providing Any Details of Proposed Trade Deal

Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, when asked at a media briefing on Saturday about Trump's remarks on tariffs and the negotiations for the proposed trade deal, declined to provide details.

"I will not get into that at this point of time because these are ongoing discussions, so it would not be right to get into it," he said.

At the same time, Misri pointed out that tariff liberalisation was the basis for several bilateral trade agreements finalised by India in recent years.

"There are ongoing discussions with several other partners on these issues now, and I think the ongoing discussions should be seen in that context as well," he said.

The US president's tariff tussle has stoked fears of a global trade war with many countries already announcing counter-measures to deal with it.

In line with his "America First" policy, Trump this week announced reciprocal tariffs from April 2 on its partners and other nations that impose higher levies on imports from the US.

(with PTI inputs)