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India Trade Policy
The US has listed India's preference for use of domestic satellites for direct-to-home (DTH) television services and localised shutdown of internet as a barrier to foreign trade. The 2026 National Trade Estimate Report on Foreign Trade Barriers released by the office of the US Trade Representative (USTR), also flagged that since 2021 American firms have been subject to increasing number of takedown requests for content and user accounts related to issues that appear "politically motivated". The report noted that localised internet shutdowns restrict access to information and services, disrupting commercial operations, and thereby undermining a free and open internet and impeding trade in the digital economy. "The United States continues to monitor the impact of these events on US trade and investment, including services exports," according to the report released on Tuesday. On satellite services, the report said the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting maintains a preference fo
Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Friday held a meeting with his Chinese counterpart Wang Wentao and discussed trade-related issues. The bilateral meeting was held on the sidelines of the 14th ministerial conference (MC14) in Yaounde, Cameroon. "Met Mr. Wang Wentao, Minister of Commerce of China, on the sidelines of the #WTOMC14. Exchanged views on the MC-14 agenda and discussed bilateral trade matters," Goyal said on a social media post. The meeting is important as India's trade deficit with China crossed USD 100 billion during the 11-month period of this fiscal year. During April-February 2025-26, the country's exports to China increased 37.66 per cent to USD 17.54 billion, while imports rose 15.21 per cent to USD 119.55 billion. Trade deficit has widened to USD 102.01 billion from USD 91.03 billion in April-February 2024-25.
India has agreed to provide import duty concessions to certain US agricultural products such as dried distillers' grains (DDGs), red sorghum and apples for animal feed. According to a joint statement, India and the US have agreed on a framework for the first phase of the bilateral trade agreement, which is expected to be signed by mid-March. Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal told reporters that India will provide quota-based tariff concessions on US agricultural products such as DDGs, soybean oil, apples, long staple cotton and soybean oil. "We have opened our markets for the US in a calibrated manner on some products like Distiller's Dried Grains with Solubles (DDGS), wines and spirits in which we have kept a minimum import price also," Goyal said. When asked if DDG's have GM (genetically modified) soymeal, the minister assured that the environment ministry has prescribed processes on allowing the import of GM materials in India, which will be followed. According to the US Grains an
Ongoing negotiations for a trade agreement with the US are expected to conclude during the year, a development that could help reduce uncertainty on the external front, according to Economic Survey 2025-26. For India, it said, the global conditions translate into external uncertainties rather than immediate macroeconomic stress. Slower growth in key trading partners, tariff-induced disruptions to trade and volatility in capital flows could intermittently weigh on exports and investor sentiment, the Survey said. "At the same time, ongoing trade negotiations with the United States are expected to conclude during the year, which could help reduce uncertainty on the external front," it said. India and the US are negotiating a bilateral trade agreement since March last year. So far, six rounds of negotiations have been held. Talks are going slow as the Trump-administration has imposed a steep 50 per cent tariffs on Indian goods from August last year. A delegation from the office of the
India and Russia are moving confidently to achieve a target of USD 100 billion in bilateral trade by 2030 and steps are being taken to expand the trade basket, Ambassador Vinay Kumar said on Monday. "The past year has been particularly active. We had a very successful visit of President (Vladimir) Putin. Achieving the bilateral trade target of USD 100 billion by 2030 is eminently possible," Ambassador Kumar said while talking to PTI on India's 77th Republic Day. "Steps are being taken, including identification of new items, and a free trade agreement will facilitate the achievement of this target," he added, noting that trade has increased with new opportunities in fertilisers, agriculture and engineering. According to reports, in FY 202425, India-Russia bilateral trade reached a record high of approximately USD 68.7 billion due to massive import of Russian crude. "More of the trade is being conducted already in the national currencies and this trend will continue as we further dee