India US Trade Deal

A proposed US Bill targeting buyers of Russian oil could disrupt India's energy security and trade, even as West Asia tensions threaten global oil supplies

Punjab farmers protest against the proposed India-US trade deal, warning that lower import duties could hurt agriculture, dairy and rural livelihoods

India has achieved 20% ethanol blending and boosted domestic output, yet continues to rely on US imports, keeping its ethanol trade deficit elevated

India expects lower US tariffs after aligning forced labour import rules with global standards amid ongoing Section 301 trade investigations

The revised US Senate bill cuts tariffs on buyers of Russian oil-India, China, Slovakia, Hungary and Azerbaijan-from 500% to 100%, while expanding sanctions on Russia

The Indian government on Tuesday issued a notification to ban the import of goods made using forced labour, aligning with global labour standards

Fully engaged with Washington for a balanced deal, says Piyush Goyal

Negotiations for a trade agreement between India and the US are progressing well, and the framework deal is ready which will be signed at the right time, an official said on Monday. The official said that India is seeking a comparative advantage on the tariff front in the agreement vis-a-vis its competitor nations. "There was a very good discussion (with the US team). The framework deal is ready...whenever there is right time, it will be signed. We are negotiating a framework deal and a bilateral trade agreement (BTA), and both things are progressing well," the official said. Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer last month held bilateral talks on issues related to the first phase of the bilateral trade agreement here. Trade deals are all about preferential market access or comparative advantage. "So that is something which is getting structured, whenever it is ready, things will be signed. But we are on a safe way, our understandin

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Monday said India and the US teams are fully engaged for a trade pact that is balanced, commercially meaningful, and delivers tangible benefits for businesses, farmers, workers, and consumers. He said that he had a meeting with US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer here last month. "Both sides reaffirmed their commitment to an agreement that is balanced, commercially meaningful, and delivers tangible benefits for businesses, farmers, workers, and consumers in both countries. Our teams remain fully engaged in achieving this objective," Goyal said in a social media post.

India has asserted that trade issues with the US should be resolved through bilateral trade negotiations rather than unilateral measures, urging the USTR to reconsider its proposed 12.5 per cent tariff, citing inconsistencies in its Section 301 investigation into forced labour concerns. Participating in the public hearing, Joint Secretary in Department of Commerce Brij Mohan Mishra submitted that in light of India's genuine engagement on forced labour issues, it strongly expresses its concerns at the USTR's (US Trade Representative) determination. India takes the elimination of forced labour seriously as a constitutional obligation, and as a matter of international law and principle. "India would like to highlight its concerns with the USTR's report and findings against India," he said. The USTR has not satisfied the relevant legal standards under Section 301(d) of the Trade Act. A mere absence of a forced labour import prohibition without evidentiary basis of other statutory ...

India has flagged inconsistencies in the US approach to tariffs at a public hearing on the US Trade Representative's (USTR) proposal to impose levies on goods linked to forced labour. Testifying before a USTR panel on Wednesday, Brij Mohan Mishra, Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Commerce, pointed out that the US exempts 1,600 items that cannot be produced or grown within the country from scrutiny of forced labour. "What we submit is that the exemptions provided by the USTR not only undermine the policy rationale of addressing forced labour impact in the global supply chain but also of preventing such impact caused by circumvention practices," Mishra said, in response to questions from the USTR panel. He also flagged that the US levies reduced tariff rates on exports of textile products manufactured using US cotton and related items. "By providing reduced tariff rates on the basis of imports of US-origin textile inputs, the textiles mechanism operates as an arbitrary requirement

New Delhi says USTR has not made an economy-specific case against India; offers dialogue to address specific concerns

India is set to challenge the proposed US tariffs on exports with the US Trade Representative next week, contending that the findings on forced labour are legally flawed and would affect American businesses and consumers. Representatives from the commerce ministry as well as industry bodies, such as APEDA, FICCI, CII and ACMA, are scheduled to present India's counter to the USTR proposal to impose tariffs at a public hearing on July 8. India has already, in written submissions, said that the USTR's findings do not take into account the country's robust domestic legal regime reflecting a structured and progressive approach combining statutory prohibitions, institutional mechanisms, and ongoing policy measures aimed at reducing vulnerability to forced labour. In its counter to the proposed tariffs, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has said India's policy framework does not qualify as 'unreasonable' or 'discriminatory' under Section 301(b) of the Trade Act of 1974. The CII al

India and the United States are "natural partners" and the Asian giant is a very pivotal country given America's geopolitical competition with China, former Chairman and CEO of PepsiCo Indra Nooyi has said. She made the comments on Wednesday during a conversation with Condoleezza Rice, former Secretary of State and Tad and Dianne Taube Director of the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. "I think that the US and India are natural partners, should be natural partners," Nooyi said. "It's a very, very important relationship for both countries, and I hope it stays that way. And I think to the extent that we remain in a geopolitical competition or race versus China, I think India becomes a very pivotal country, because you don't want that part of the world being taken over by China, which is a logical partner," she said. "I think, given the bad neighbourhood that India is in, it's critically important (that) the US protects India and allows democracy to thrive," she added. Nooyi

The US-India trade deal is in its "final steps", with only the last one per cent of negotiations left to be concluded, US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor said on Tuesday, expressing confidence that the deal would soon be sealed after nearly 18 months of talks. Addressing the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum Leadership Summit here, Gor said he was determined to conclude the agreement as it would be beneficial to both nations. "We are in the final steps on this deal. Most of this deal is complete. There's a few items that remain on both sides. It's in the last 1 per cent of that deal," he said. The US envoy to India was bullish about the bilateral relationship and cited the personal equation between US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi which was driving the ties. "People ask, why is this taking so long? We've been at this for a year and a half. To put it into perspective, we've been trading for 20 years. So no matter what, once we beat the European deal, I th

Ashwani Mahajan says the proposed India-US trade pact has become a one-sided market access arrangement, with key differences persisting over agriculture, data and Russian oil

India's policy week was marked by US trade talks, weak core output, stronger FDI, coal-import substitution and a faster disinvestment push

India's envoy to the US, Vinay Mohan Kwatra, discussed the path to deepen bilateral trade partnership with the leadership and members of the Ways and Means Committee of the American House of Representatives. "Joined a special roundtable discussion on key aspects of the US-India bilateral trade relationship with the leadership and members of the House Ways and Means Committee," Indian Ambassador Kwatra said in a post on X. "We exchanged views and discussed the way forward to further expand and deepen the trade partnership," Kwatra said. The meeting comes against the backdrop of the negotiations between the two countries to finalise an interim bilateral trade agreement. The Committee on Ways and Means is the oldest committee of the United States Congress, and is the chief tax-writing panel in the House of Representatives. Committee Chairman Jason Smith, a Republican from Missouri, and Ranking Member Richard Neal, a democrat from Massachusetts, were among those present at the ...

Commerce minister says agreement hinges on Washington providing tariff advantage against rival economies

Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer reviewed key trade issues, but negotiations offered few signals on when an interim agreement may be concluded