Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Friday that an interim trade deal between India and America may come into effect in April. News agency PTI said that a three-day meeting between Indian and American officials will start in America from February 23 to finalize the legal documents of this interim trade agreement.
Earlier this month, India and the US issued a joint statement saying that a framework for an interim trade agreement has been finalized. Piyush Goyal also said that India’s Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with UK and Oman may also come into effect in April. This agreement with New Zealand is expected to come into force in September.
India-US interim trade deal
On February 7, the US and India said in a joint statement that they have agreed on a framework for a mutually beneficial trade deal. According to the press release issued by the US and Indian governments, these will be the main terms of this interim agreement.
- India will eliminate or reduce tariffs on all US industrial goods and many types of food and agricultural products. These include dried distillers grains (DDGs), red sorghum for animal feed, tree nuts, fresh and processed fruits, soybean oil, wine and spirits.
- The United States will impose a reciprocal tariff of 18% on some goods made in India. This includes textiles and clothing, leather and footwear, plastics and rubber, organic chemicals, home decor, artisan products and some machinery.
- It has also been decided that the US can remove tariffs on goods that were listed for possible tariff changes under Executive Order 14346 dated September 5, 2025. This includes generic medicines, gems and diamonds, and aircraft parts.
- The US will also remove tariffs on some Indian aircraft and aircraft parts, which were imposed on national security grounds.
- Keeping in view the national security needs of the US, India will get a special tariff rate quota for automotive parts. This is related to the tax imposed under Proclamation 9888 of May 17, 2019.
- Depending on the outcome of the ongoing US Section 232 investigation into pharmaceuticals and their raw materials, India may get negotiated relief with respect to generic medicines and ingredients.
- India has agreed to remove long-standing barriers to trade in US medical devices and eliminate import licensing practices that impose quantity restrictions or delay market access for US ICT goods.
On buying oil from Russia
After the announcement of this framework of trade deal between US and India, White House had said that India has promised to stop oil imports from Russia directly or indirectly and has talked about buying more energy products from America. This statement came after US President Donald Trump’s claim on February 2, in which he said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has agreed to stop buying oil from Russia and buy more from the US and possibly Venezuela. However, there was no mention of this in the joint statement of India and America. India has neither accepted nor rejected this claim of Trump and the White House.
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