India-US Trade Deal Inches Closure To Finalisation, 50% Triff Imposition To Be Addressed

The first tranche of the proposed India-US bilateral trade pact is inching closer to an agreement, addressing the 50% tariff imposition on the south Asian nation's goods whilst seeking to enhance American exposure to Indian markets, citing media reports.

The US had imposed punitive 25% tariffs after having already levied the first tranche of 25% tariffs due to India's continued purchase of Russian oil.

The trade talks between both countries is expected to alter the current the US levy on Indian goods on mutually agreed upon date.

"We are engaged with the US on the BTA. It has two parts. One part of the negotiations will take time. The other part is a package which can address reciprocal tariffs. We are working on both aspects. The package that can address reciprocal tariffs is more or less near closure, and we should get it soon," the official said, citing media reports.

The official added that the deal is expected to address the issue of a 25 per cent penalty on India; otherwise, the agreement would have no meaning.

On India's state-run oil entities inking a one-year deal to import cooking gas LPG from the US in 2026, its a result of behind-the-scene talks that've been deliberated over a long period of time.

The move is noted as an attempt to reduce India's trade surplus with the US, which has been on Trump's agenda.

India and the US are discussing a mutually-beneficial bilateral trade agreement, which is set to decide upon the first tranche of broader pact by the end of 2025.

A team of Indian officials, headed by Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal, was in Washington last month to hold trade talks with their US counterparts. The three-day talks ended on October 17.

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The proposed pact aims to more than double the bilateral trade to USD 500 billion by 2030 from the current USD 191 billion.

The US continues to seek greater market access for its products such as almonds, pistachios, apples, ethanol and genetically modified commodities.

In the period of 2024-25, the US remained India' largest trading partner for the fourth consecutive year with the trade between India-US valued at 131.84 billion.

This tallies to 18 per cent of India's total goods exports, 6.22 per cent in imports, and 10.73 per cent in the nation's overall merchandise trade.

In September, India's merchandise exports to the US declined 11.93 per cent to USD 5.46 billion in as a direct result of high tariffs imposed by Washington, while imports increased 11.78 per cent to USD 3.98 billion during the month, as per Ministry of Commerce data.

Trump has recently stated that the US is "pretty close" to reaching a "fair trade deal" with India, adding that he will lower tariffs imposed on Indian goods at "some point".