Trade Agreements

Complementarity sans capability: Limits of India's trade strategy

India's trade pacts with developed economies highlight a gap: without stronger domestic capabilities, complementarity alone cannot deliver balanced gains

India, US make 'progress' on interim trade deal, BTA negotiations

India and the US are engaged in discussions aimed at reaching a balanced and mutually beneficial trade agreement, said a spokesperson for the ministry of external affairs on Thursday

India, Qatar discuss ways to boost trade, strengthen supply chains

India and Qatar on Thursday held discussions on ways to boost bilateral trade and strengthen supply chain resilience, which has been disrupted due to the West Asia crisis. The meeting was held between Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and Qatari Minister of State for Foreign Trade Affairs Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Sayed. "We discussed ways to further enhance our bilateral trade and investment ties while strengthening supply chain resilience. Looking forward to deepening our strategic partnership in the times ahead," Goyal said in a post on social media. Both had virtual interaction. The bilateral trade between the countries stood at USD 14 billion in 2024-25. Both sides have aimed at doubling it by 2030. They are also looking at negotiating a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA). Goyal recently discussed trade and supply chain related issues with trade ministers of other GCC members also. It included Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Kuwait. All these countr

Call on standards within 6 months of trade pact rollout: USTR report

USTR says India will determine within six months of the interim pact coming into force whether US or international standards are acceptable for select sectors, easing market access for US exports

Working to expand preferential trade agreement with Mercosur bloc: Goyal

India is working to expand the preferential trade agreement with South-American nation bloc Mercosur to further promote trade and investment between the two regions, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Saturday. Mercosur is a trade bloc in Latin America comprising Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay. The India-Mercosur PTA came into effect on June 1, 2009. This PTA has limited coverage and contains only 450 tariff lines or products. Both sides are looking at expanding the scope of this pact to a full-fledged agreement. "The Mercosur region is particularly important for us, and we are working to expand our India-Mercosur preferential trade agreement, to improve market access, to grow investments on both sides, to have technology partnerships, and to engage in sports, education, culture," he said here at Ficci's India-Brazil Business Forum. The minister also said that the bilateral trade between India and Brazil is growing, but it is "sub-optimal". It grew by 25

Finalised trade pacts will be operational this year, says Piyush Goyal

Piyush Goyal said FTAs with the UK, Oman, New Zealand and the EU will be implemented this year as India launches new schemes under the Rs 25,060 crore Export Promotion Mission to boost exports

India, US to hold 3-day talks from Feb 23 to finalise leagl text for ITA

A three-day meeting between Indian and American officials to finalise the legal text for an interim trade agreement will begin in the US on February 23, an official said on Friday. Earlier this month, India and the US released a joint statement to announce that a framework for an interim trade agreement has been finalised. The joint statement lays down the contours of the deal. Now, the contours of the deal have to be translated into a legal agreement, which will be signed between the two sides. It is expected to be signed in March. The Indian and the US team will start their three-day meeting from Monday, the official said. Indian team will be headed by chief negotiator Darpan Jain, who is a joint secretary in the Commerce Ministry. Under the interim trade pact, both sides would extend duty concessions to each other on a number of goods traded between them. The US has announced that it will reduce the reciprocal tariffs on Indian goods from 25 per cent to 18 per cent. It has alr

Interpreting US trade deal: Focus on the gains from import liberalisation

Amid political criticism, the India-US trade pact highlights how lower tariffs and deeper reforms could lift productivity and growth, if intent turns into binding change

Got India's commitment to stop buying Russian oil: US Secretary of State

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said that India has committed to stop buying Russian oil, days after New Delhi reiterated that "national interests" will be the "guiding factor" for India's energy procurement. US President Donald Trump, while announcing a trade deal with New Delhi early in February, claimed India had agreed to not procure crude oil from Russia. Since then, the US has claimed multiple times that India will stop buying oil from Russia. Speaking at the Munich Security Conference on Saturday, Rubio said, "In our conversations with India, we've gotten their commitment to stop buying additional Russian oil." Rubio was responding to a question on the Russia-Ukraine war and the sanctions imposed on Moscow. After announcing the deal, in an executive order, Trump rolled back an additional 25 per cent tariffs on India that he imposed in August last for India's procurement of crude oil from Russia. Earlier, India had said that it would maintain multiple sources for crud

Indo-US trade deal is not just about trade, it matters for growth

The deal shifts the US posture towards India from hostile to neutral, and that matters for growth

Trade agreements open doors, but India still isn't investment-ready

Creating the groundwork for shovel-ready investment would require hard work to reverse all of India's deep-seated problems

India, US trade framework offers tariff clarity for exporters: Experts

The finalisation of a framework for signing a trade pact between India and the US has provided an immediate certainty and predictability to domestic exporters at the tariff front, experts say. As per the framework, the US will reduce reciprocal tariffs on India to 18 per cent from 25 per cent. The US has already removed the additional 25 per cent punitive tariff which it imposed on India for buying Russian crude. They said that the tariff on India is the lowest compared to its competitor nations such as China, Indonesia, Vietnam and Bangladesh. Rudra Kumar Pandey- Partner, Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas Co, said the framework provides much-needed operational clarity on the recent tariff rationalisation. The framework explicitly confirms that a reciprocal tariff rate of 18 per cent will apply across several key Indian export sectors, including textiles and apparel, leather and footwear, plastics and rubber, organic chemicals, home decor, artisanal products, and selected machinery ...

India-US trade deal: India's economic moves come with strategic strings

Pax Silica and import commitments highlight opportunities and risks

India-US trade deal: Boost seen for energy, minerals imports over 5 yrs

India has expressed intent to import $500 billion worth of energy, minerals, technology products and aircraft parts from the US over five years under an interim trade agreement

On the anvil: Virtual trade corridors to ease digital bottlenecks

India is pushing virtual trade corridors and paperless logistics with key partners as digital trade becomes central to FTA talks with the EU and the US

India's trade deals are a win, but fiscal vulnerabilities are also growing

India weathered the Trump tariff shock better than expected, but high public debt and slower fiscal consolidation pose risks even as trade deals lift growth and investor sentiment

India-US trade deal: Agri, dairy interests 'protected', says Piyush Goyal

Goyal said both sides were working on a "joint statement" outlining the details of the first phase of the agreement

From the brink and back: How the India-US trade deal finally shaped up

After months of tariff shocks, stalled talks and diplomatic sparring, India and the US finally stitched together a trade deal that reshaped bilateral ties

Farm livelihood concerns allayed as agri, dairy sectors kept out of US deal

Centre says sensitive sectors such as agriculture and dairy are outside the India-US trade deal, easing concerns even as US officials speak of higher farm exports

India's trade breakthroughs must shift focus now to execution and reform

The 'mother of all trade deals', the Indo-US thaw, and a sensible Budget signal the beginning of the implementation phase