India keen to raise energy purchases from US for 'win-win' trade deal

India is looking for a “win-win solution” for both sides in its trade talks with the US that would also address the “tariff issue”, with New Delhi keen to make additional energy purchases of up to $15 billion from Washington, Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal said on Wednesday.

 

He said a team of officials from the department of commerce is currently in Washington for the trade talks and he will be joining the team for negotiations on Thursday, with both sides focusing on an early conclusion of the proposed trade agreement. As announced by US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in February, the official deadline for the first tranche of the Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) continues to remain until the fall of 2025.

 

 

“Our negotiating team is already in the US, and (they are) trying to see if we can have a win-win solution between the two sides, which can address some of these tariff issues,” he told reporters.

 

Considering the ongoing US government shutdown, the current round of negotiation won’t be called an “official round”.

 

“Having said that, because there is a movement on both sides where they are trying to see if there is a pathway to address the current trade challenges, both sides are discussing to see if we can iron out these issues,” he said. The US government entered into a shutdown on October 1 as Republicans and Democrats could not agree to pass a bill funding government services into October and beyond.

 

The secretary further indicated the readiness to step up energy imports from America. In the past seven-eight years, energy purchases from the US, largely crude oil, have come down from $25 billion to around $12-13 billion.

 

“So, there is a headroom of around $12-15 billion, which we can purchase without worrying about the configuration of refineries… there is a bilateral commitment, and in discussions we are in, we have indicated very positively that India as a country would like to diversify its portfolio as far as energy imports are concerned. That's the best strategy for a big buyer like India,” Agrawal said.

 

Stepping up such imports from the US could be one of the ways to address Washington’s longstanding concern over the trade deficit that it runs with India. During FY25, the deficit stood at $40.89 billion.

 

“As a country, we will be very happy to buy more energy from the US, subject to... availability at the right price,” Agrawal said.