Indo-US Talks

US President made the comments while administering oath of office to Sergio Gor as the new US Ambassador to India, and indicated progress in ongoing trade talks, suggesting tariff cuts could follow

New Delhi would seek a reciprocal US tariff of 20 per cent or less and a swift deal, fearing Indian exporters could fall further behind Southeast Asian rivals if negotiations drag on

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday met US Secretary of State Marco Rubio here and discussed bilateral ties as well as regional and global issues, amid ongoing trade negotiations between the two countries. The meeting took place on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit. "Glad to meet @SecRubio this morning in Kuala Lumpur. Appreciated the discussion on our bilateral ties as well as regional and global issues," Jaishankar said in an X post. The meeting came in the backdrop of the proposed bilateral trade deal between India and the US, which, according to an official, is "very near" to concluding. Five rounds of talks have been completed so far for the first phase of the bilateral trade agreement between India and the US. On Sunday, Jaishankar held separate talks with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, Singapore's Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan and his Thai counterpart Sihasak Phuangketkeow. The 11-nation ASEAN is conside

Earlier, on October 3, Ambassador Kwatra met Congressman Greg Murphy, a Republican from North Carolina, and discussed recent developments in India-US relations

New Delhi seeks removal of penal tariffs on Russian oil purchases as Washington pushes soybean and corn sales, with both sides aiming to seal a trade pact by fall

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will meet US Secretary of State Marco Rubio here on Monday for bilateral discussions, as the high-level 80th session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) kicks in. This will be the first face-to-face meeting between Rubio and Jaishankar following President Donald Trump's imposition of an additional 25 per cent tariff on India for Delhi's purchases of Russian oil, taking the total levies imposed on India by the Trump White House to 50 per cent. According to the daily schedule issued by the State Department on Sunday, Rubio will meet Jaishankar in New York City on Monday morning. They had last met in July in Washington DC for the Quad Foreign Ministers' Meeting. The bilateral meeting comes on the same day India and the US will hold discussions towards achieving an early conclusion of a trade agreement. A delegation led by Union Commerce and Industries Minister Piyush Goyal will meet with the US side on Monday in the city. "The delegation plans to t

CEA V Anantha Nageswaran said India and the US could resolve their tariff dispute within 8-10 weeks, as both sides hold talks and look to improve ties

New Delhi is now left with the surprise imposition of a 25 per cent tariff on Indian goods from Friday, along with unspecified penalties over oil imports from Russia

It's become urgent for New Delhi to make its case to Washington after being unexpectedly slapped with a 25% tariff, one of the highest in the region, facing further threats over its ties with Russia

While the higher tariffs for US markets are a big economic challenge, they also create opportunities for innovative solutions that may take India on a higher growth trajectory

India and the US teams have concluded the fifth round of talks for the proposed bilateral trade agreement (BTA) in Washington on July 17, an official said. The negotiations were held for four days (July 14-17) in Washington. "The Indian team is coming back," the official said. India's chief negotiator and special secretary in the department of commerce Rajesh Agrawal leads the team for negotiations. These deliberations are important as both sides are looking at finalising an interim trade deal before August 1, which marks the end of the suspension period of the Trump tariffs imposed on dozens of countries including India (26 per cent). On April 2 this year, US President Donald Trump announced these high reciprocal tariffs. The implementation of high tariff was immediately suspended for 90 days till July 9 and later till August 1 as America is negotiating trade deals with a number of countries. Issues related to agriculture and automobiles are learnt to have figured during the fif

India and the US are working to finalise an interim trade pact by fall 2025 as negotiators prepare for talks in Washington amid Trump's reciprocal tariff warnings

India is trying to negotiate and finalize a trade agreement with the US, Special Secretary in the Department of Commerce Rajesh Agrawal said on Thursday. Agrawal is also the chief negotiator of the proposed India-US bilateral trade agreement. The aim is to conclude the first phase of this pact by fall (September-October) of this year. Before that, the two countries are looking to finalise an interim trade agreement. Agrawal said that India has so far implemented more than 14 Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with 26 countries. "Now we are integrating with major markets also... we just concluded an agreement with the UK, we are in an advanced stage of negotiations with the European Union, we are trying to negotiate and finalize a deal with the USA," he said here at an event on export logistics. India, he said, is also negotiating trade pacts with Latin American countries including Chile and Peru. "We have done (trade pact) with Australia and UAE. We are in negotiations with New Zealand

The push comes as Trump announced an agreement with Vietnam that cuts US tariffs on many Vietnamese goods to 20 per cent from his previously threatened 46 per cent

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday spoke to US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth and appreciated the "unwavering support" the US extended to India in its fight against terrorism. In their phone conversation, Singh and Hegseth discussed a wide range of issues -- from long-term cooperation in the defence sector, including training and military exchanges, to expanding industry collaborations. "Excellent discussion to review the ongoing and new initiatives to further deepen India-US defence partnership and strengthen cooperation in capacity building," Singh said in a social media post. "Conveyed my deep appreciation for the unwavering support extended by the US to India in its fight against terrorism. Looking forward to meet him at an early date," he said. The defence ministry said Singh and Hegseth agreed to further build upon the momentum of the "critical and mutually beneficial" partnership across all its pillars. "The two leaders discussed a wide canvas of issues ranging from

Trade officials from India and the US met in New Delhi for about a week to discuss issues including greater market access, digital trade, customs rules and technical barriers to trade

The talks are still ongoing and there's no clarity if the Trump administration has agreed to a three-stage process for a trade deal

India's proposal to impose retaliatory import duty on certain US products in response to American tariffs on steel and aluminium could cast a shadow over ongoing negotiations for a trade agreement between the two countries, think tank GTRI said on Tuesday. The Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) said that if the US engages in consultations with India on the matter or withdraws tariffs, a resolution may be reached. Otherwise, India's retaliatory import duties could take effect in early June, potentially impacting US exporters and deepening trade frictions, it added. In a significant move targeting US safeguard duties on steel, aluminium, and their derivative products, India has formally notified the World Trade Organisation (WTO) of its intention to suspend trade concessions granted to the US. The proposed suspension of concessions could take the form of increased tariffs on selected US products. While India has not disclosed those items yet, in a similar move in 2019, it had ..

India has offered preferential access to nearly 90% of goods imported from the United States, including the reduced tariffs, one of the two officials said

While tariff is important, the bilateral trade agreement between India and the US should focus more on non-tariff barriers, a top official of Semiconductor Industry Association said on Friday. India can have a higher share in the USD 600 billion semiconductor market if it plays the cards right, Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) President and CEO John Neuffer said during a panel discussion at Global Technology Summit organised by Carnegie India. "As we think about our bilateral future and our cooperation within the BTA (bilateral trade agreement), we shouldn't over-index on the tariff piece of it. There's no doubt about it, that's really important, but more emphasis needs to be given to the non-tariff barriers. That's been talked about in Washington quite a bit. There's customs problems, there's siting regulations that need to be streamlined," Neuffer said. India and the US are holding discussions for a bilateral trade agreement (BTA) to rationalise import taxes in the ...